Beast and the Beast
by Loyal-Ruby
Summary: A woman ends up being turned into a demon because of her vile nature and only on certain agreements can she be turned back so she takes the road to Hell. Baal/OC
1. Chapter 1

(13th June, 19:10, New Moon)

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter One – The Occurrence**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

She looked around the outskirts of her house, it was all quiet and that is the way she preferred it! Why would she need to be involved in the petty occurrences of life? Human life was dim-witted and almost always disappointing, she preferred to keep to herself and people preferred it when she did.

She had no trouble looking after herself; she grew her own vegetables, milked her own cows and had her own poultry and livestock to butcher when she required meat. She could make her own clothes and had her own well for water. So why did she need company? She had built her own house and had ALWAYS looked after herself.

Her name was Sakai Vikira, aged 24 and living alone just outside of Lut Gholeim, a place known to be surrounded by arid desert, but beyond the arid desert was a lush and healthy forest, which is where she lived and she was happy there.

She needed no one and no one needed her.

That was, of course, until one night someone knocked on her door.

She was surprised at the company she would soon see; very few people ever came this far out of Lut Gholeim, unless it was a traveler on the way to Lut Gholeim, in which case she had little time for them, regardless of purpose.

She tried to ignore the knocking, but it persisted non-the-less; irritated Sakai stood up and flung open the door, staring at the person with a hatred that could scorch ice. Standing before her was an old woman, dressed in rags and walking with a cane, her back was hunched and she looked tired. "What do you want?" Sakai hissed out at the elderly woman, who looked up at her in confusion.

"Why are you so angry?" The woman asked and this caused Sakai's anger to skyrocket, who gave this woman the right to talk to her like this? To ask HER questions about herself? It was a bloody privacy invasion. The old woman saw the anger growing in the young woman before her and spoke to calm her. "Sorry for the question." She said and the words did not seem to calm Sakai.

"Begone from my dwelling; we have no reason to talk." She said as she slammed the door shut, walking back to her armchair to relax in front of her fireplace, Sakai knew she had an anger management problem, but it had brought her no harm so far and she had no intention to change.

"You are evil at heart." She suddenly heard from her left and was shocked when she saw the old woman standing to her left, her shock soon turned to anger as she stood up and grabbed a machete from the side of the armchair, holding it to her side protectively.

"Get out of my house or you will leave in fewer pieces than you arrived." Sakai warned, her eyes boring into the woman's like that of a serpent, eyes full of hatred with no place for another emotion. The woman was a monster.

"I came to seek a place to stay for the night…" The old woman started, but before she could get much of her sentence out Sakai interrupted her.

"You shall find none here, leave my house or I will have to take action against you." She hissed out as her hand gripped the machete so tightly that her knuckled turned white, the look of hatred in Sakai's eyes did not diminish as she stared down at the haggard old woman.

"It is I who will be taking action against you." She said and Sakai hissed as she flung the machete at the old woman, with the intention to hurt or kill, but the old woman simply vanished and reappeared once the machete had hit the wooden wall behind her. "My name is Mara and I am the Witch of the East." She said and the name meant nothing to Sakai.

"Get out of my house or I won't give you time to blink next time." She threatened as she took a piece of wood leaning against the wall and held it up offensively. There wasn't a sign of love or patience within the woman standing before the witch.

"You shall stop speaking to me like that!" The witch yelled as she held her hand out to Sakai, who immediately got flung against the wall, held there by an unseen telekinetic force. Sakai could do nothing but stare at the witch as she walked to in front of Sakai.

"Let me go." Sakai said, her voice held a tad of fear as she realized she was defenseless if the woman tried to harm her. She couldn't even move her arm! The only thing she could move was her face and glaring daggers at the old woman wouldn't help either.

"Giving you a chance to repent for your deeds and hatred will do you no good; you will never change unless you are put in a situation where you will want to change!" The witch yelled towards Sakai in obvious irritation.

"What are you going to do to me?" Sakai asked now, the question was itching to be answered and she had to ask what was going to happen, she knew the witch planned to do something to her and she _needed _to know! How could she get out of this situation! If she did she would kill the bloody witch for taking over her privacy like this!

Mara looked at Sakai sternly. "I will transform you into something that will match your soul, you're beauty as a human is remarkable, but your soul is the shade of a demon's, you are hideous inside and I will make you hideous outside!" She said towards Sakai, whose eyes turned to shock.

"Forever?" She asked in shock, not even trying to argue the fact that she would be changed into a beast, she saw the woman wasn't joking with her, she was dead serious about the upcoming transformation.

Mara shook her head. "No, not forever, your soul will be the reflection of your appearance. So the timeline depends on you." She said and Sakai got annoyed immediately, WHO was this woman to decide how she should be?

"What the hell is that supposed to mean you hag!" Sakai snorted at the witch and Mara stared at her in disappointment and shook her head.

"The meaner and viler you are, the uglier you will become, the day your heart is pure and your soul is kind will you return to your beautiful appearance, the day you learn to _love_ **others**." She said and Sakai pulled a disgusted face.

"What do I look like to you, a charity? That will take forever!" She yelled at the woman, who didn't take any offense at the screaming.

"That is your choice, because you will also be immortal while this curse is upon you." She said and then disappeared with a few lingering words. "_Only on the full moon will you be able to enjoy your previous beauty, from dusk till dawn_."

Sakai growled in frustration as she fell down on the ground. "I will kill you!" She yelled towards the emptiness and immediately she felt something change on her.

She looked down at her skin and screamed in shock, it was bubbling and turning into scales! Her hands were becoming elongated and long nails stretched from her fingers, making claws. She fell back as another scream escaped her throat, but it came out sounding like a growl; making her scream again.

"No, NO, NO!" She yelled as she ran towards a mirror, the moment she saw herself in the mirror she hit it with her reptile like fist, it shattered on impact and she yelled as she saw her blood flowed green. She shot back against the wall as she put her hands in her hair.

With a shock she saw how lumps of her black hair started to come out until she felt a bald head instead of her usual long curly hair, now lying in a pile on the ground.

She fell to the ground and for the first time since she could remember she cried, putting her head in her hands as her entire body racked with sobs.

What had she _become?_


	2. Chapter 2

**(13th June, 20:33, New Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Two – The realization of Fate**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai didn't know for how long she had cried but it felt like her body had nothing left to give and it left her exhausted and terrified. She had never before been terrified and she felt like she was in a void, like everything around her wasn't real. She knew she wouldn't wake up from this nightmare, but she hoped she would non-the-less.

She stood up and refused to look down at herself, refused to look in the shards of mirror lying around and refused to look at any reflective surface, she had no need to acknowledge the way she looked. The most important thing she remembered was that the woman said she would be herself on a full moon, from sundown till sunrise.

She wasn't sure whether it was a gift or a curse to be able to see herself normally for one night, to be reminded of what she had lost because of her cruel words to a woman she really wished she could kill at the very moment.

She should never have opened the door! She should've pretended she was asleep and refused to acknowledge that the woman was outside the door, seeking shelter.

Who was the old hag to even think she would give her shelter? Did she look like an inn? WHO was the old woman to dictate to her how her soul should look when she barely interacted with people to start with?

She sighed and decided she didn't care, she would never be able to love and she had no intention of trying, if she had to live out the rest of her days as a reptile beast she would, it would only make people stay away from her with a new passion!

The old witch actually helped her! Now she wouldn't be forced to interact with people! They would run at the sight of her!

With a laugh she decided to go to bed, the thought was pleasant and she hoped it would last her through her years, she knew tonight was a New Moon, so it was four days until a full moon showed its face and she could be normal again, for a few hours.

x.X.x

Mara was standing outside the house, she had been listening to the reaction of Sakai for the last few hours and came to the conclusion that the girl was further away from redemption than she had realized, there was no love in her heart and no compassion for another.

She didn't know how long it would take the girl to come to terms with herself and give in to the gift of compassion, the gift of loving another and not being alone.

She had not expected to find someone like this on her travels to Lut Gholeim, she had seen many cold hearted people but she has never, in all her travels, come upon someone with such a dark soul.

The transformation of Sakai befitted her, for her heart was as dead as that of a reptile's, surviving on the bare minimum emotions to survive and it had made her a monster. Mara had been survived when the girl had tried to attack her and that was when she had made her choice to lay the curse upon her.

"May God be with you." Mara said as she continued with her journey towards Lut Gholeim, she would see to the girl every now and again, to see her progress, to see whether the curse was causing any emotions in her.


	3. Chapter 3

**(14th June, 07:01, Waxing Crescent Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Three – Death Surrounds the Cursed**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai opened her eyes and looked around her room, everything looked the same, except the broken mirror brought back the truth of her appearance and for the first time since last night she looked down at her hands.

The claws were the first thing to strike her once more, she had forgotten how they looked and she saw now she had torn her bedding a bit. She growled as she hid them under the blankets and looked at her skin. It was a pale golden green color that looked oily but was dry to the touch.

"It's just a normal day." She said to herself as she got up and walked towards her bathroom, she would not be daunted by something as stupid as the way she looked. She would use it to her advantage the best she could.

x.X.x

Sakai had bathed and was dressed in fresh clothes; it was now time to go tend to her livestock and plants after she got some breakfast.

She walked towards the kitchen and took some fruit from the bowl, raising it to her mouth she felt the resistance of fangs and a cold wave of shock went down her back as she realized once more what she was. She growled as she pushed the thought aside and bit into the fruit with her new canine teeth.

Her face pulled into a disgusted grimace as she spit out the apple, looking at it for any trace of the disgusting flavor she had just had to savor on her tongue, but she found nothing but a healthy apple in her hand.

It had tasted like ash to her, it was disgusting and she put it down immediately, could this be part of the curse? Could she no longer consume fruit? Irritation surfaced in her, was she meant to _act _like the thing she became? A reptile? Would she need to eat meat to survive or even enjoy her meal?

She hissed as she put the idea of food aside and walked towards her livestock pens and chicken coops, she would test that theory now.

x.X.x

The second she came outside she was met with panic from the animals, they ran towards the edges of their enclosures and made loud sounds and she realized it was because of her appearance. Irritation took hold of her once more. Would she not even be able to tend to her own animals because they feared her?

She growled and walked away from them, towards her vegetable garden; grabbing a pail of water on the way to tend to them. This was getting ridiculous, would she not even be able to live a normal life because of a damned witch? Not even _pretend _to live a normal life?

She reached the vegetable patch and the moment that she put her hand on the tomato sprig it wilted under her touch, turning a black color and dying before her eyes.

She stared in disbelief, her finger still upon the wilted leaf.

'No…this is not happening, this cannot be true.' She thought to herself angrily and suddenly she touched another plant, the same thing happened and she watched as another of her plants died before her very eyes.

Anger beset her and she started screaming, ripping the plants from their roots and watching as they turned black in her hands, watching as the vegetables turned rotten through the polluted stems holding them there.

She went around kicking everything in sight, scaring all the livestock and ripping everything she could find from its roots. This was too much for her! She could not even _pretend _to have a normal live! Oh no! The witch would not allow it! She was meant to suffer and try to get something to want to converse with _**this **_bloody image of her!

She was a bloody monster! Who wouldn't run at the mere sight of her! If she went on all fours she would pass for a bloody mutated crocodile! She screamed at the sky angrily and continued with her rage, destroying everything she had worked so hard to build up.

x.X.x

It was about twenty minutes later and Sakai had finally stopped with her rage, her hands were bleeding from where she had harmed herself in the assault, but she didn't even feel it. She felt nothing but pure hatred and anger at the woman who had done this to her.

She saw her green blood and cringed at it, the color was potent and she recognized it from the day before when she had hit the mirror. Though it felt like she was seeing it for the first time; what else would she discover as she was stuck in this disgusting body?

Soon it became clear to her that she had no choice, she could fight the idea as much as she wanted but she needed to find a way to care for another thing, for anything. She could go to the demonic world and try there? Apparently if you were one of them they accepted you easily and some of them even cared for you like a brother or sister.

Well, that's what she heard and read some time ago. She looked down at herself again and gave a huff; she could pass as something demonic with her current reptile like appearance, even if she did still pass as a female lizard. At least that was a blessing; she still retained her gender through all this.

With another huff she picked up her butcher knife from the side of her mill and walked towards the cows, if meat was all she could eat she would take some with her on her travels. The cows started to run like mad in their enclosure but she wasn't bothered by their behavior, she expected nothing else.

Soon all you could hear was the tearing of flesh as the knife cut away at the caught and fallen cow.


	4. Chapter 4

**(14th June, 10:12, Waxing Crescent Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Four – Travel Starts**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai flung her bag over her shoulder as she gave one last look at the place she used to call home and immediately turned her head away to avoid tears. She had locked her house and released all her livestock, the reason being that she would be gone a while and she didn't want to return to a bunch of carcasses in her yard.

"I'll get new ones." She convinced herself as she started to walk away from Lut Gholeim's direction. She needed to find the entrance to Hell and it was rumored to be in this very forest, or at least one of the gateways.

What she was leaving behind she would get back one day, one day when she either admitted defeat or when she happened to care for someone. She groaned at the possibility, how could she care for anyone? Humans, demons, ugh! The mere idea made her cringe.

Demons were the worst idea EVER, they were disgusting evil creatures who constantly killed for satisfaction but she also knew it was her best chance, as she had said, she knew demons usually cared for one another and if she got one of them to care for her, even a fraction, and maybe forced herself to do the same she could end this nightmare within a month.

She pulled her black cape tightly around herself and put the hood over her head, she needed to avoid attention to herself as it would do her no good if a human spotted her and decided to shoot her on the spot because of her appearance. That was another reason she couldn't try and get a human man to fall in love with her or even care for her.

If she stepped into the town like this they would shoot her the second she put a foot into the town and revealed the way she looked. There was no chance; the demons wouldn't even notice her as far as she was informed. They would look past her appearance as they would have a similar one.

She growled as she set off in the general direction of Kurast.

x.X.x

It was now close to sunset and Sakai was exhausted, she had been walking for ages and she had little to no idea where she was. All she knew is that she needed to pass the town within the forest called Kurast and then head onwards towards an old abandoned city made of marble. It is said that the portal to hell is within the biggest temple in the middle, guarded by some powerful demon known as Mephisto.

She sighed as she finally decided to settle down, walking for over 12 hours was enough to make anyone tired and she needed to rest or else she would collapse and if a human found her collapsed somewhere close to their town they would kill her without excuses or explanations from her.

She went to a tree and placed her hand upon it, the result was almost immediate. The leaves darkened and she watched the tree age before her until it was dried out and all the leaves had fallen to the ground. She then took a bunch of dried twigs from the dead tree and set it down on some rocks, scratching around in her bag until she found a match and some firelighters. She set it to the twigs and branches; soon a fire was blazing in front of her and she continued to pile dried grass and twigs onto it to keep it going for the night.

With that thought she set her head down on a rock and tried to ignore the uncomfortable hardness it offered to her tired and aching body, the fact that the grass died wherever her hands lay didn't give her comfortable thoughts to think about either; but she had no choice other than to sleep.

Slowly she closed her eyes and soon she was asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**(15th June, 03:00, First Quarter Half Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Five – A Companion without Need**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

He looked up as he smelled something odd, smoke, why would there be smoke so far from the town of Kurast? Very few people dared to come into the forest with all the demonic activity happening in the area.

He considered that a part of the forest was on fire, but it was impossible for two reasons; firstly, the forest was too wet to be set aflame and secondly the smoke trail that he could see was far too narrow to be considered anything other than a campfire.

He decided to investigate the peculiar site, there was a ferry from Lut Gholeim to Kurast so almost no one travelled through the forest and those who did usually didn't survive until nightfall to make a fire. Perhaps he would discover a corpse.

He smelled the fresh air once again, not only to smell the smoke again, but because he had been imprisoned for so long that he had forgotten what it smelled like to be free, a thousand years was a long time to spent trapped to your own mind.

The prison of Tal Rasha had been his home for longer than he could remember and against his will, but now that he was free he would set his sight on revenge and domination, he was after all the Lord of Destruction known only as Baal.

His cape barely concealed his skeleton figure; it would take some time before his human flesh grew over his burned body again. Oh for how long those fires of his prison had licked at him, turning him from a man into a skeleton monster from anyone's worst nightmares. His muscle strings had shot loose from his body creating a vine like appendage on his back and his skin was a milky bone color that looked slimier than it actually was.

In short, he would scare the living daylights out of anything, even his own kin; though the fear of his appearance would be little compared to the fear of his power and once he was reunited with his two brothers they would be unstoppable once again. Not even the Holy Angels of Heaven would be able to stop them this time. No, last time they underestimated the cunning nature of them, but this time they knew all their tricks and it would not happen again.

Besides, all he had to do was get hold of the soul stone the human, who freed him, now possessed. Once he had the stone little would be able to stand in his way, there wasn't a soul who would be able to stand up to him; not even the entire legion of Angels would be able to defeat him.

If there was one thing he was sure of it was that they would never get that stone back into his body, he would never allow that.

He smirked, for now he would amuse himself with whatever lay next to that campfire, possibly under the impression that it was safe.

x.X.x

Sakai felt her senses prickle for some reason and she was on her feet in a few seconds, though the annoying feeling wouldn't subside and she groaned as she took her machete from her bag. She would not be breakfast to anything in this forest.

She was surprised at her sight in the night, even if the dying campfire blurred her vision a bit with its light she could still see exceptionally well, considering the darkness and the half moon in the sky.

Thinking of the moon suddenly sidetracked her as she remembered the promise of being normal for one night; she suddenly longed for it, longed to be able to savor the taste of fruit, the feel the grass slip between her toes instead of watching it wither at her touch.

She was snapped out of that thought when she heard a twig snap from the direction of the dead tree, she looked that way and felt her blood run cold when her eyes met with that of a demon, it could be described as nothing else.

The thing was wearing a cloak similar to hers, except it was brown and the hood was off, she could see something bulging from under the cape at the back and even in her wildest imaginations she wouldn't be able to conjure up what it was. His face was hollow and was the color of the moon, milky white and his lips were puckered like that of a fish.

Though the most frightening part of him was his eyes, it shone a golden color that promised nothing but death and pain. He looked like a skeleton the way his thin body started to move towards her. She immediately took a few steps back.

"What is a human like you doing here?" He asked her and she didn't know how to reply to that, what would she say to him? Her mind raced as she thought of the possible ways this hideous creature could murder her and suddenly she remembered, she was no longer human!

"I need not answer that as you're directing your question towards a human, which I'm not." She stated blatantly and truthfully. The demon didn't seem to take her sarcasm well as his eyes sparked gold in the night sky and with the spark the campfire seemed to be set alight again. She took another step back.

"Human or not you shall respect me." He said as he walked closer to her and she tried to step back, but quite ironically, her back hit that of a tree. He stopped in front of her and she remembered the machete in her hand; almost immediately she swung it towards him and she felt it come in contact with his bone like features, soon followed by a hollow sound that gave no notion of succession in her favor.

She was right because within a second he had painfully pried the machete from her hand and snapped the thick metal in half, tossing it into the fire, causing the embers of the fire to scatter across the grass, improving the illumination of the area by a fraction.

"You smell like a human." He accused as he forcefully removed her hood from her head and when he saw her appearance he was stunned for a few seconds. "Peculiar." He said and she didn't know what to say to preserve her life, she had never before faced a demon but she was pretty damn sure the weak ones couldn't snap metal like that or take no damage from the blow she gave.

"What is your name creature?" He asked her as he took a step away from her and she saw the harmful intentions vanish from his eyes once he realized she wasn't human; she was instantly relieved and decided to do the only wise thing: Answer him.

"Sakai Vikira." She said and the demon seemed to examine her for a few seconds before accepting her answer as the truth.

"A human name." He said and she immediately regretted giving him that answer, was she a fool? No demon liked a human and here she was basically showing him her birth certificate.

"What makes you say so?" She decided to pry, to try and erase her previous words with more words, to try and prove she wasn't a human, or at least not at the moment, she could not afford to die now; she did _not _want to die now.

"Demons have no last name." He said and she wanted to face-palm herself for her idiocy, _of course _demons had no last name, so she had just proved she wasn't a demon to him with her words, how could she salvage this situation, and prove she was one of _them,_ without dying?

She decided to keep quiet and Baal looked her from top to toe, trying to figure something out about her that she had the craziest desire to ask about; but everything in her screamed at her to keep her mouth shut. She had always lived on her instincts and she wasn't about to stop now.

The observation of her continued for a few minutes and she felt her skin crawl with uncertainty as she saw nothing in his eyes to give away his intentions, she wondered whether she could make a run for it and escape him; but she didn't know the forest well and he seemed to be pretty quick on his feet; even for the way he looked.

Finally he opened his mouth to speak and her heart stopped; what would he say? Off with your head? She contemplated all the creative ways he could think of killing her, demons had a knack for torture.

"You're too human to be a demon, but you're too demonic to be a human, you're not a creature as they can't communicate. What are you girl?" He asked and she felt a sense of relief flood her, he was baffled by her and curiosity was a good thing at the moment.

She considered her answer for a few seconds before answering. "I'm in search of my heritage; I'm seeking to go to Hell." She said and he glared at her for a moment before his eyes softened to an 'I might kill you' look and her entire body seemed to relax and only now did she realize how rigid she had been with fear of this unknown demon.

"I am going to Hell as well, I know the path." He said and she didn't get excited at the news at all, she only knew she had to get there eventually.

"Could you tell me how to get there?" She asked and he smirked.

"No, because you'll be travelling with me." He said and she immediately felt the need to decline but as soon as she opened her mouth a light went on.

"Okay." She answered instead as she picked up her backpack, he saw this as the cue to start walking and she started to follow him.

"You are different; I've never seen a demon with a backpack." He said and she decided she wouldn't reply to that one, lest she talk herself into a corner again.

Though it was a brilliant idea to travel with him, he seemed like a demon who demanded respect and if she showed up with him at the demon nest they would probably accept her immediately instead of inspecting or rejecting her. She could not fail with this idea and soon she would be human again.

"You walk too slow, speed up a bit and lose the backpack; you'll only embarrass yourself among our kin." He said and she was hesitant to leave it behind, her clothing and meat was in there, what was she to wear or eat?

"Maybe later." She answered and he groaned as he just walked on, forcing her to speed up her pace and she sensed an uncomfortable anger growing in her companion.

"I suggest you don't try to test my patience." He warned and with that they walked on through the night in silence.


	6. Chapter 6

**(15th June, 13:30, First Quarter Half Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Six – A Companion without a Heart**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai was sagging again, she had barely slept enough and they had been travelling for ten and a half hours, she needed to rest but her companion seemed to be moving without fatigue, as if exhaustion eluded him and his own growing anger was his energy.

She did not have the energy to convert anger into energy or to pretend she was still up to scratch, if she could she would've fallen to the ground long ago; but she knew her only chance to become human again remained with this monster before her.

She had never before cared for company and it was obvious he did neither because he hadn't spoken so much as a word to her since they started walking and she was starting to wonder why, her reason was that humans were boring and she couldn't handle an idiot. His reason was probably the same, except that humans were also considered an occasional snack.

She sighed and immediately her companion stopped dead, making her almost walk into him; luckily she stopped herself in time. He turned to her and examined her again; immediately she wondered what she had done, was it because she sighed? Could it be something as simple as that?

Did demons sigh? Was that why he stopped, did he find it peculiar that she was so human. She realized she hadn't heard him make a single human sound since they started, except speech of course. Her blood ran cold as she considered the possibility of him contemplating this.

"Where are you from?" He asked her and she found the question out of the place and quite unnecessary, but unlike a normal human, she couldn't tell him that. Telling him that would result in her own death and she hated feeling like she was a puppet that had to obey.

"A few miles from Lut Gholeim." She answered him and the expression on his face was unchanging and she only now realized that he couldn't change his expression, his face was nothing but bone with a thin layer of skin over it. She felt bile rise in her throat at the thought of something so disgusting existing, but kept it in place.

"We're going to be passing the Citadel of Kurast soon." He said and she felt herself get angry again, more travelling? Couldn't they just _rest_ for an hour or two! Was he going to drive her to death? She decided she would speak now or never.

"Can't we rest for a short while?" She asked in hope, but the look in his eyes gave her a positive no.

"Why?" He asked.

"I'm not as…versatile… as you are at travelling or staying awake for long periods at a time; I need to recuperate." She said as she examined his hideous features that weren't fully illuminated in the night and her skin crawled with the realization of what lay ahead for her.

She could see the bulge better on his back and from the edge of his cape she could see vine like tentacles moving around, it was the same milky color as his skin and it looked like it was covered in slime. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She turned away from him and vomited, but nothing came out but a bit of liquid; she ended up gagging most of the time and once she was done she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and looked at Baal, afraid of the look she would receive and afraid she would get another fit of nausea at his appearance.

She looked Baal in his eyes and saw confusion. "I-I'm not feeling well." She countered, hoping he would believe her elaborate lie and she saw he did because his eyes went from confusion to looking annoyed.

"You are by far the worst demon I've ever encountered." He said and then turned away from her, starting to walk again and she felt her spirits evaporate with every step he took; no rest. She straightened herself out and started to aimlessly follow him. Spitting every now and again to try and get the horrible acidic taste of her vomit out of her mouth.

x.X.x

It was close to sundown and Sakai was walking on no energy, her entire body was sagging and she needed water, she needed to rest, she wanted to wash herself and she wanted to eat most of all, she was starved, dirty and tired.

They had passed the town of Kurast a few hours prior and she had badly wanted to run away from him and try to book herself into a inn, even if she knew it was impossible to get in with her appearance the thought was still alluring.

Once more Baal stopped dead before her and this time she did walk into him. She felt the vines on his back part as she sank into them like a cushion and immediately she had to turn away to stop herself from vomiting again as she pulled away.

He turned to her, obviously annoyed that she had walked into him. "We will rest here." He said and her nausea and disgust vanished the instant he said that and she plopped down on the ground with a huge sigh of relief. "Oh Thank God." She muttered and Baal delivered no comment.

She felt like she could pass out on that second but she needed to find water to clean herself and attempt to eat at least to regain her strength and will to actually pull through with this. "Is there a pool close to here?" She asked and he looked at her for a few seconds before answering.

"Yes, just passed the trees to the left." He said pointing to some thick foliage surrounded by trees and she was up within a second, taking her backpack and walking in the direction. "Are you seriously going to bathe?" He asked and she gave a solemn nod, he shook his head in some form of disappointment and she decided she would ignore it as she continued to walk in that direction.

x.X.x

Sakai reached the pool and took off her clothes, setting them down by the edge of the pool as she climbed in, the water was freezing but welcoming as it gave her new energy to actually cook her food and survive another day.

She washed the grime off herself but soon she felt disappointed, she didn't feel cleaner than she did previously, actually, she couldn't remember feeling dirty in the first place or even sweating. With a disappointed growl she got out of the water and dried herself off with her old clothes. Getting dressed in her new clothes and putting a new cloak around herself. She bent down and took a sip of water and once more she felt disappointed, it didn't quench her thirst at all! What was wrong with her!

She shoved the thought aside and quickly rinsed the dirty clothes in the water and hung it on a tree close to the water so that she could retrieve it when she woke up. Once she was done with that she walked back to the camp, backpack flung over her shoulder as usual.

x.X.x

Sakai was pleased to see her companion had taken it upon himself to start a campfire and she watched as he idly watched the flames trickle upwards, he seemed to have an odd fascination with it. She ignored it and went to sit next to the fire, opening her backpack and taking out a piece of meat she had cut from her cow.

This caught Baal's attention as he watched her take a rock from her side and put it in the middle of the fire, placing the slab of beef on top of it. He suddenly gave a dry laugh and she looked towards him in surprise. "What?" She asked and he shook his head a way times before responding.

"That is never to going to work." He said and she growled at his insult.

"Listen, I've done this a million times, it's going to work." She said and he kept quiet, she saw a smile play on his face and felt nausea beset her again, she _had _to get used to the way he looked sometime, she couldn't want to throw up every time she looked at him!

x.X.x

About half an hour later she had managed to cook the meat and scoffed in victory. "Told you it would work." She said smugly and Baal gave a snort she didn't quite know how to place.

"That's not what I meant." He said and she was confused, but shrugged it off as she took a bite of the meat and immediately gagged as the ash taste took over her mouth again, she spit out the meat and stared at the meat in her hand in surprise, as if she expected maggots to crawl from it.

"I told you it wouldn't work." He said smugly now and she looked at him stunned, how did he know it would taste this way? Why did it taste this way to her? Questions swam in her head and she had to release them before she popped.

"Why can't I eat anything?" She asked him in anger that wasn't directed towards him but towards the hag who did this to her, why did the woman do this to her? It was unfair!

"God, you must've missed the 'Being a Demon 101' meeting." He said amused and she felt completely bemused, actually, she felt like crying, all of this was unfair! She was stuck with the most hideous creature she has ever seen and she was the same as him!

"Tell me why I can't consume anything!" She yelled and he laughed at her, she felt like she could throttle him on the spot but she remained rooted next to the fire, taking deep breathes to calm herself.

"Or perhaps 'Demons for Dummies' would suit your particular brand of idiocy better." He insulted, but then cleared his throat and spoke. "I'm guessing your bath felt… unsatisfactory?" He enquired and she only gave a nod.

"Demons do not sweat; the only dirt we accumulate is that from our travels, which we tend to ignore for weeks at end, there is no pleasure from a bath except looking cleaner, which usually don't last long for our kind." He clarified and she took that as the truth. "We cannot eat cooked meat, fruit or any other product of nature except raw meat with blood in." He said and she pulled such a disgusted face that he let out a snicker.

"Raw meat? Blood? Do I look like a bloody cannibal or carnivore to you?" She asked in shock and he waved for her to shut up.

"Your teeth could've fooled me, but either way Sakai, the only drink you can consume is blood and the only food you can eat is raw meat, there is no way around it. Everything turns to ash in your mouth otherwise. The best meat and blood obviously comes from humans, remember that." He said and she felt her world collapse.

Raw meat? Blood? Because she looked like a monster she had to act like one as well? What was this madness the witch wanted her to descent into? How could she grow to care for people if she had to consume them? She felt tears brim her eyes but soon realized her body had no more water content to dispose of since her last 'sob session', instead she just shook with invisible tears that made Baal confused.

"What are you doing?" He asked her as he cocked his head to the side, trying to examine her reaction to his words.

"Arguing with myself." She lied as she looked up at him, her body still shaking lightly, but no tears escaping; her eyes just stung like smoke had been blown into them.

"Interesting…" Baal said and she growled suddenly.

"What the HELL is interesting about living like this? Eating humans and so forth? What is so great about it?" She asked in a flurry of anger, hopelessness and hatred.

"Nothing you're willing to understand." He stated and then his eyes turned intensive as he looked at her. "That's what I want to know, why you don't understand." He said as his eyes turned a darker gold color that made her shiver.

"What are you Sakai, because you're not a demon by birth, that much I can tell. What are you and choose your worlds carefully." He threatened and she glared at him with such force that his eyes held the smallest bit of surprise but it was soon replaced with more anger and curiosity.

"I was turned into a demon." She confided and Baal looked shocked at her answer because he sat up straight and stared at her intently.

"Why?" He asked and she shook her head, she had to lie.

"I don't know, I don't remember anything, I just know the morals of human life. I'm a demon and I can't change that." She said and Baal examined her once more.

"That's why you smelled like a human, you have lingering traits of them." He said and she could do nothing but nod, would he kill her now that he knew she was actually a human?

"Does this bother you?" She asked bluntly, she didn't like being in the dark and if she didn't ask he wouldn't answer her until he was about to kill her and then it would be too late to run.

"Yes, it does bother me. I don't have a lot of compassion for your kind." He hissed out and she felt everything in her freeze over, she could almost _taste _her death on her tongue, which was strangely still human and not pronged like that of a lizard.

She took a deep breath and spoke. "What are you doing to do about that then?" She asked and he looked at her, she saw malice in his eyes as he stood up.


	7. Chapter 7

**(15th June, 19:16, First Quarter Half Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Seven – The first Trifle of Aggression**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai looked into the eyes of the demon who she was sure was about to kill her and so many things went through her mind that fear was nothing more than background noise. She had spent her entire life in solitude, she had been alone all her life and had never helped or even considered helping another human. She was barely human herself as the witch had proven; yet this demon was about to murder her because she used to be one, because she had their blood. Because she was _human_.

And what was she going to do? Sit there and let him kill her while she pretended she could do nothing because he was a demon? She was a demon as well due to her dark soul and even if it was horrible to know she had a soul as dark as a demons she still had comfort in the fact that she would be human again sometime and she would be damned if this hideous thing thought he could take it from her.

She stood up as well and faced him, determination shone in her snakelike eyes as she tried to stare him down, even if it wouldn't prove or do much, it would show him she wasn't going to let him just kill her, she would stand her man and she would fight for her life.

He examined her as she stood poised to attack and he suddenly started to laugh at her, so much that she took a step back in surprise and relaxed; immediately she realized it was a mistake when he grabbed her with his bone-like fingers by her neck and threw her across the camp with little effort.

She groaned as her back hit a tree and she felt a branch tear through her cloaking and stab her skin, enough that she felt blood trickle down her back in waves, though she could tell it was not deep, though she had always been a bleeder.

Once she hit the ground she pulled herself up and Baal was walking towards her again, he was still laughing at her and she was confused, his laugh wasn't menacing, it sounded innocent! Why was he attacking if he found this amusing or fun? Why?

She didn't dare try to examine her wound while her companion was advancing on her, it would only be foolish and she would find herself against a tree again and this time she might not be able to get up. She tried to get her determination back up to par but she found that she couldn't. He was too powerful, he had flung her across the camp like she was a small rock in his palm; how could she face someone who could easily consider her a toy.

"Let me go rather than kill me!" She yelled at him suddenly, if she wasn't travelling with him he had no reason to dispose of her if she wasn't going to be close to him, did he?

He stopped in front of her, his eyes shone with a sort of horrid amusement and she could see her death play out in his eyes. "Oh, this has nothing to do with you being turned into a demon; it has to do with you lying to me." He said and shock took hold of her, lie to him?

"Lie to you? When?" She asked confused, she couldn't remember any lie she told him.

"Do you want to know why I laughed?" He asked and she wasn't really sure whether she wanted to know, but she nodded her head in any case; she had the feeling he would tell her anyway.

He smirked. "When you threw up, that was not because you were sick, that was because of my appearance when you saw it in the light." He said and she knew he was right, but how did he know that, why would he know that?

He seemed to be thinking for a second. "Actually, that makes it two times you lied to me." He confirmed and she took a step back, her back resting against the tree as she tried to ignore the stabbing pain of her wound.

"Elaborate." She said and looked down at his fingers, then back up at her.

"A human who was turned into a demon and flung into the forest with no memories except a hardwired idea of morals would not find my appearance disgusting, let alone enough to invoke nausea." He said and she suddenly understood what he meant about lying to him.

He meant when she said she remembered nothing from her previous life. "So why don't you tell me what really happened little morsel?" He teased her and she stood still, staring at him in absolute silence. Where demons meant to be this smart?

She sighed as she saw this as a 'safe moment' and looked at her wound, she saw her green blood pouring out and put her hand to it, feeling the odd velvet feeling of her blood. She turned back to Baal. Her eyes were set like stone and she stood dead still.

"Fine, if you insist on knowing." She spat out at him as she still didn't move, she balled her hands into fists and glared at him though he seemed to take her anger up as amusement and crossed his arms.

"I was turned into this bloody monstrous form because I'm a horrible person okay, apparently I'm a bloody monster and THAT'S why." She hissed at Baal and he seemed very amused because his eyes shone with a form of excitement she didn't know or like much.

"So you're a monster? You seem pretty tame to me." He said with a laugh as he walked to her and started to circle her, examining her as if he hadn't ever seen her before. She glowered at him, yes, tame to him because she couldn't do anything to him. "Though you have a pretty sharp tongue on you, I can almost guarantee that's what got you turned." He said and she knew he was right, at least partially.

Though she firmly believed it had more to do with the fact that she tossed a machete at the old hag that set this in motion. Though she wasn't about to mention that to anyone.

"Yes." She said and Baal stopped circling her and stopped in front of her, a question was burning in her and she decided she would ask, she was never one to keep to herself when it came to questions, she was blatantly forward and tactless. "I want to get something straight, you're _not _going to kill me because I used to be a human, but you're going to kill me because I _lied _to you?" She asked and Baal let out another laugh.

"Yes." He said shortly and she was surprised that he considered the death of another so little, as if it didn't bother him in the least that he would be killing someone for something as silly as a lie.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me, you're bloody insane." She said as she kept her eyes closed, mainly because she was irritated but also because she didn't want to see the blow coming for that would kill her.

"Partially yes." He said without much thought, as if it had been said to him before. "Though what reason would you have to live anyway? You're the opposite of what you used to be, what life can you find with our kind if you cannot even stomach the idea of consuming the flesh of what you once were?" He asked and suddenly his eyes darkened. "Unless of course there is a way for you to turn back… is there?" He asked her, his eyes boring into her soul and she knew for all the love she had for herself that she had to lie now.

"No, I cannot be turned back as far as I know." She lied; she hoped he wouldn't pick up on it because another lie would surely count against her, as he was already considering her demise, though there was no positive outcome if she said otherwise. "My reason for wanting to live is my own and it doesn't concern you." She said sternly as well, he didn't need to know.

He laughed. "You really have a sharp tongue mortal." He said and she took the fact that he called her 'mortal' a bad sign, so she decided to interject.

"I'm immortal because of the curse so I don't think you're wording applies." She said and Baal said nothing as he walked away from her. She was confused as she stared after him. "And now?" She asked stunned and he didn't turn back to her as he went to sit down by the fire.

"You have permission to live, though you will still accompany me, rest now." He said and she was completely speechless. One moment he is positively happy with the prospect of her dying and the next he is giving her 'permission' to live? What was wrong with demons? Or this demon to be specific, she had never met one, though she really hoped all of them weren't like this or she would a lot of trouble getting to like them.

"Oh and no need to worry about your wound, it's minor, it will be almost fully healed by tomorrow if you are a full-blooded demon." He said to her like she the idiot she was on demon analogy.

She didn't saying anything as she walked over to the tree opposite the side of the fire he was sitting and leaned against in, closing her eyes, ignoring the pain of the wound as she in any case didn't have the energy to fix it right now; she was exhausted.

"I suppose you wish you had a pillow?" He mocked her and her eye twitched in irritation, both from his insult and the fact that she couldn't say much, considering it was true and she had just barely survived being killed.

"Goodnight then." Baal said and she gave a nod as she tried to clear her mind of everything, but the only thing that kept reoccurring in her thoughts was this _thing _she was travelling with and the way he was and looked.

Though soon sleep did take hold of her and she drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**(16th June, 05:56, Waxing Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Eight – The first Trifle of Hatred**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai felt an uncomfortable nudging feeling at her side, at first she thought it was her wound sending the feeling up her spine, but soon she realized it was someone's foot. She opened her eyes in a second and was on her feet the next.

She was staring at Baal and she felt disgusting surge in her, so badly that she had to turn away from him again. "Oh god, can't you wipe your face after you feed?" She spat out and he looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked and she didn't dare look back at him, she didn't want to see it or she would throw up again and she had barely managed to get the acidic taste out of her mouth previously.

"You have a piece of flesh stuck on your face." She said, realizing how odd it sounded that a piece of meat was stuck to someone's face, though that was what she saw and she wasn't going to look again for confirmation.

"Really?" He asked a bit shocked as he touched his face and sure enough he felt the patch of flesh on his face. "Oh, that's my own." He said so matter-of-factly that she actually looked back at him and now noticed the milky white color of the flesh, though it didn't help ease her nausea so she looked away again.

"I don't understand." She said and he said nothing as he started to walk away from her until he reached the edge of the camp.

"You don't have to, now get your things, we're leaving." He said and she gave a nod as she fought down the nausea his appearance brought to her, though she walked towards her bag and picked it up, quickly heading to get her clothes from the tree by the pool.

x.X.x

They had been walking for about an hour when Baal once again made a sudden stop, he turned to her and she knew by now he was going to ask her a question so she waited for it; she hated the way he was sometimes, he would just stare at her, almost as if he was sizing her up.

"Why do you really want to go to Hell, I don't believe you want to find your heritage there, as you have none." He said and she gave a nod, knowing he knew it was yet another lie she had told him, though the entire story only counted as one lie.

"I can't exactly live normally after this transformation so where else can I go?" She asked him and he shook his head and she was now staring at the piece of flesh on his bonelike skin, wondering what it was doing there, in the middle of his face. It was as if it had just grown there.

"There are plenty of other places where demons reside and where you could make your home, why did you choose Hell?" He continued to ask and she hated his questions, it was all personal and she wasn't one to divulge things like that to strangers.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked him, she needed to at least have one shred of privacy left when it came to him, she couldn't possibly tell him everything.

"It's my business to know and you will tell me." He said and she was taken aback by the order but knew his threats weren't idle and if he made one he would probably carry it through.

"Well, I suppose I think Hell is the most sophisticated place for demons to live." She said and Baal let out a laugh, she was confused, even his laugh sounded a bit more normal to her than usual. Perhaps she was just getting used to him in a way? Had to be that or maybe with how pathetic she seemed to him she taught him how to laugh; somehow that idea was disturbing.

"I guess a human would think so." He said as he turned around and started to walk again, but now she was curious as to why he said that.

"Why do you say that?" She pried and he continued to walk and she noticed the hump on his back where the vines were was growing smaller, she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't imagining things, but she wasn't, it was visibly smaller.

"Because it's true." He said, giving a technically correct but completely useless answer.

"You know what I mean." She said irritated as she started to scan him for any of physical changes but found none so she just stared ahead of them into the dense forest.

"Yes, I do know what you mean." He said and she waited for a further answer but it didn't seem like he was going to give one. He drove her insane! He never spoke about himself or anything he said! She really felt like she was being interrogated by him!

"Can't you just give me a straight answer for once?" She hissed out irritated and this time he did stop, he swung around and glared at her with so much anger and hatred that she had no idea where it came from.

"I don't need to give you anything, let alone an answer, it's not my fault you're in this predicament and even if it was I wouldn't care! Do you want to know why?" He spat out and before she could answer he continued. "It's because I AM a demon, you're a watered down version that won't last five minutes in Hell if you go on like this!" He finished with a hiss and she was staring at him stunned.

"Then why are you taking me there?" She asked softly as she looked away from his hateful gaze and shuffled on her feet, looking at their reptile features.

"Perhaps I'm a bastard in taking you there because I _know _you will get killed with your questioning nature and attitude! Don't think your apparent beauty as a demon will save you either!" He said and she was stunned at the last part. They would consider her beautiful, even if she looked like _this_?

"Okay… Okay, I get the point." She said as she started to walk now, but he grabbed her by her arm and yanked her back to him.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" He hissed and she stared at him blankly, was all demons like this? Were they intelligent beings inflicted with hatred and anger? Was that was she was like to other people?

"Sorry." She said suddenly, surprised at his anger, she had never seen so much anger in anyone, not even herself, she wasn't _anything _like these creatures, okay, maybe she was a mild version, or a 'watered down' one as he said; but she wasn't as violent or hateful.

He let her arm go and pushed her away from him as he started to walk now and she took a deep breath and followed in silence. Even if he said she would possibly die in Hell she had to take the chance, it was her only chance to become human again.

The part she was dreading most though was having to eat soon, she knew she could just eat the raw beef, but even that disgusted her, and the blood would be her water? And the sad part about all of this was that demons didn't have a choice, they _had _to eat it as they couldn't eat anything else.

Perhaps that was also why they were so insane; they ate humans and any other form of meat, if she had to do that for her entire life she would have gone insane as well.

She looked up at the sky, wishing it was night, because the humid heat of the forest was getting to her and at least in the night it was cool. With a start she remembered she would be turning human tomorrow when the sunset; at first she felt joy, but then it turned into despair.

How would she hide it from her companion?


	9. Chapter 9

**(16th June, 11:00, Waxing Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Nine – The first Trifle of Beauty**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai wiped her forehead, expecting to feel the wetness of perspiration, but she felt nothing but her overheated forehead; her companion was right, she could not sweat. He was right about another thing a well, her wound was fully healed and she barely felt it when she moved.

Was this the perks of being a demon? Never truly being dirty and to be able to heal at a rapid rate? No wonder they were more powerful than humans, they had so little downsides that it was hard to believe that they weren't the ruling party.

They were intelligent, or at least the one she was travelling with was intelligent enough to be considered exactly that in her community, he would shine above most humans with his mind, yet they were considered the inferior and 'evil' race. She assumed it was because of their anger, since her companion was radiating it.

A race with so much anger wouldn't be able to function as a community, which was probably why she didn't fit in with the humans; she was too different from them, even if she was further from a demon than a human.

"Can I ask a question?" She said towards him, only seeing his back as he walked on ahead, he didn't stop and she was expecting that he wouldn't answer.

"Yes." He finally said after a minute and she wondered why he was so secretive about everything in his life, why he refused to divulge even the tiniest bit of detail about himself, hopefully he would tell her this.

"What is your name?" She asked and she could hear him groan in front of her.

"It doesn't matter, you can call me whatever you want." He said and she was right, he would reveal nothing about himself; she was starting to wonder why he was so secretive, was it because she wasn't truly a demon and he felt like he would be betraying himself if he told her even the tiniest detail? She just didn't know.

"Alright, how about 'Secretive'?" She asked and he growled now, a dangerous feral sound that sent shivers down her spine.

"Don't get sarcastic with me, you will regret it." He threatened and she took in a deep breath to control her own anger and forced herself to keep quiet. She could do nothing to harm him, he, on the other hand, could do plenty to her.

"Okay." Was all she said as she continued to follow him, there was no point arguing and all she had to remember was that it would be too her benefit to arrive in Hell with this demon and she could not mess that up, she was not allowed to mess that up.

"You'll do good to remember that and to keep your questions to yourself." He spat out as he just continued to walk.

She gave a sigh, they weren't even in Hell yet and she felt like she had already reached it, this _was _Hell, having to live like this and having to be in the company of this monster.

x.X.x

A few more hours passed and it was already noon, Sakai was sick of walking but she knew she would get no rest until the sun set; her companion didn't believe in resting unless it was absolutely necessary and it was starting to irritate her.

"We've reached the forgotten city." He said and she looked up now, for the first time in about an hour and she was greeted by the most amazing site she has ever saw; towering temples of marble reached towards the sun, moss and vines were growing up these beautiful landmarks that seemed to radiate richness and power.

"It's beautiful." She muttered and he didn't look at her as he walked into the city and she followed idly, looking at it in wonder, why did the humans ever allow the demons to take over such a beautiful place? It was glorious in so many different ways; there was no other way to explain it.

"Yes, it is beautiful, considering who lives here." He said and she recalled the name of the demon Mephisto.

"Mephisto right?" She enquired and he was quiet for a few seconds before answering.

"Yes, Mephisto guards the gateway to Hell." He said and she felt a bit paranoid, if he guarded it, would they be allowed inside.

"How will we get passed him?" She asked, considering the strength of a guardian, they were meant to overpower anything that tried to get passed without permission and considering he was still the guardian meant he was powerful.

"He is also my brother." Baal said and she was shocked, Mephisto was her companion's brother, did that mean he was just as powerful? She wanted to ask a question about him but remembered his warning about it so she kept quiet.

"I see." She said in place of her question as they walked further through the beautiful marble city in silence.

x.X.x

About an hour later they reached the middle of the city and a huge temple adorned it, so big it made everything else look like garden ornaments. "We've arrived at the place, the temple of durance." He said and she nodded as she still stared in awe.

"Come little one." He said with a smile and she entered the temple, following him silently, once more marveling at the beauty of the city.


	10. Chapter 10

**(16th June, 18:01, Waxing Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Ten – The first Trifle of Fear**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

They were inside the temple and she was a bit surprised that the inside wasn't glorious; it was actually a filthy brown color, as if it was given no attendance, though it was obvious that the walls and floors were once a white marble color.

Above all, it reeked like death and she had to breathe through her mouth to prevent herself from getting sick again; it was obvious there was a lot of demonic traffic through this specific temple, she would make a point to visit another temple just to witness the way it was actually meant to look.

"This is gross." She muttered and Baal paid no attention as he looked around and now she also noticed it for the first time. Everyone there were eyes looking at her, demonic eyes, they stared at them through the darkness and she felt unnerved. "Are we safe?" She whispered towards Baal softly and he gave a nod; it didn't set her at ease though, how could she feel safe with so many demons around?

She started to walk faster, but Baal grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to his side. "Try not to act like what you are; I am safe from them, though I can't guarantee you the same protection unless you act like what you are." He said and she gave a slow nod.

Acting like a demon, did that mean she would have to glare at them as well, or avoid eye contact? Would she have to come forth as menacing or submissive to survive? Would she need to walk slowly like her companion or move quickly like a demon could?

She gave a sigh and decided to do what her companion was doing: Walk slowly and just look ahead, avoiding contact with the other demons, if they attacked them though she had no idea what they would do. They were only two and she doubted her companion would protect her from an onslaught.

Or perhaps these demons knew he was the brother of this Mephisto demon and that was why they kept their distance because he was obviously powerful, maybe not as powerful as the guardian but he would probably be able to take on a few demons before dying.

She didn't know in how high of regard demons held their lives but she was sure they wouldn't want to lose it. She gave a small smile, once again she was pleased that she had made the choice to travel with this specific demon; she had the feeling if she came in here alone she would've been killed.

"How far still?" She asked him softly and he looked at her now and she was surprised and disgusted to see another small patch of flesh on his face, it looked like hair fibers but it was obvious it was growing on his skin. What would he become? Even more hideous and threatening? Would he turn into a huge demonic creature? She shuddered at the thought, she had to get as far away from him as she possibly could once they were in Hell, she didn't want to be close to him, he was creepy.

"About an hour." He said as he continued to walk, the demons still stared at them and she watched amazed as her companion gave them a look that made them shrivel back into the shadows, disappearing until he had passed them. It was obviously out of fear and she wondered why; there was more than enough demons in this place to overpower her companion, yet they seemed to cower in front of him.

She wanted to laugh, did it really matter? She would be in Hell soon and would be rid of this monster she was travelling with, she would find a demon that was less aggressive and would find a way to get to know and like him, and hopefully he would be able to do the same.

x.X.x

An hour passed and they were facing a stairwell leading downwards, Baal looked at her. "Come." He said as he started to walk down the stairs. She stared at the darkness leading down and had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if something was begging her not to go down.

She swallowed hard and followed him, she didn't know what to expect but she was sure it wasn't going to be good.

For the first time in her life she was possibility afraid, she was fearing of what awaited her.


	11. Chapter 11

**(16th June, 19:05, Waxing Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Eleven – Mephisto Revealed**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai had kept her eyes closed throughout the descend into darkness, she didn't want to see, even if she couldn't; instead she had felt her way down and her companion had even laughed at her for her fear, as if this was a normal thing to demons and she supposed to was.

But it wasn't to her, she wasn't used to this, she wasn't used to being a demon and living like this, she wasn't used to having to look over her shoulder to see if someone was going to attack her.

"Open your eyes." She heard from in front of her and she did so reluctantly and gasped at the sight she saw, molten lava filled this room and only now this she notice the heat, there were two rooms on either side of the chamber separated from the lava and in the middle of the pool of lava was a mortal, shimmering like it was coated with blood and the faint sound of screams echoed from it.

She took a step back in shock; there were faces in the portal! Human faces! Pouring down the portal like raindrops on a window! What dark magic was this?

"Follow me." Baal said to her and she didn't know what to do, she was frozen, _this _was the mortal to Hell, she knew not to judge a book by its cover but this was pretty much obvious, Hell was Hell like it was meant to be. What would she find there!

"I've changed my mind; I don't want to go in that!" She yelled as she took a step back and Baal turned towards her, growling angrily.

"You don't have a choice." He hissed as he grabbed her arm and started to drag her into one of the two chambers leading to the portal, she tried to struggle, she didn't want this! She would rather live in her little house and feast on raw meat than go into _that_!

"No! No, I do! You can't make me go in there!" She persisted and he turned towards her and in an instant his bonelike fist hit her face, making her fall back, the only thing that prevented her from falling was the fact that he was still clutching onto her arm.

She let out a yelp and went completely silent as he started to speak. "You shall go in there! Even if I have to drag you, you wanted this without doing your homework and now you will suffer for it!" He hissed out as he started to drag her with and she felt like all the life had been taken from her.

She followed him idly as she refused to look at him or her surroundings and soon she felt him stop and she did the same, staring at the ground.

She heard a hideous growl that wanted to make her run and hide but instead she just continued to look at the ground, her companion wouldn't let go of her anyway.

"Who comes here?" Came from the darkness, a voice so dark it made her skin crawl, this must be Mephisto and she would not look, did not want to look at the creature she was sure would invoke the worst sort of fear in her.

"Brother." Baal said in return and there was a long silence and Sakai could hear shuffling and see the shadow of Mephisto approaching, as if to examine the person who claimed to be his brother.

She heard a demonic like gasp. "This cannot be." The demon Mephisto said and she heard her companion laugh.

"I am back brother, I am free." He said and she didn't know what type of reunion was on the way but she had the feeling it wouldn't be hugs and kisses.

"How?" The demon Mephisto asked and she suddenly felt eyes on her. "And who is this creature with you? She reeks of mortality." He said with a snarl and once again Sakai was very happy she didn't try to come in here alone, it seemed they could smell that she was a human.

Though the fact remained that she shouldn't have come at all, this was a mistake she was bound to regret, since she didn't have a choice but to go into Hell, her companion was forcing her.

"It's a long story for another time brother, the details of my escape or any of details of myself is not to be discussed in front of her." Baal said as he looked at Sakai. "Her name is Sakai Vikira, she used to be human." He said and Sakai could sense the growing unease in Mephisto, as if he wanted to assault her and get rid of her; but the presence of his brother prevented him from doing so.

"Why keep it then? It's a filthy human!" Mephisto snarled at Baal and she heard him laugh in reply, was she about to die? Did he bring her all the way here just so that Mephisto could kill her?

"Not anymore brother, besides, she can do no one any harm." He said and she could hear Mephisto growl in the background, she didn't want to look up, she wouldn't look up.

"What is your intention with her! You hate humans more than all of us put together! Do you hold fascination with this disgusting creature?" He hissed out and Sakai felt horrible, she wanted to run, if this is what they felt for her she had no intention to stick around; if they could smell her humanity on her she would never stand a chance.

"I have no fascination." There was a long silence and Sakai had the feeling they were communicating silently.

"I see." Mephisto finally said and her suspicions were confirmed, though she had no idea what he had said to Mephisto and she wasn't too sure she wanted to know; it would help her nothing if she did know so being kept in the dark wasn't that bad.

"You may pass brother and so may the human." Mephisto said and she heard him step aside and soon she felt Baal drag her along towards the portal.

"As if you'd be able to stop me big brother." He said and Mephisto gave a dry laugh, she wasn't sure whether it was out of sarcasm or acknowledgment, though she thought it would be out of sarcasm, her companion was obviously not as powerful as Mephisto.

Soon she felt a silky feeling around her legs and a sense of disembodiment and immediately she knew they had stepped through the portal. She felt a sense of fear she couldn't place until she thought about it.

She was on the way to Hell!


	12. Chapter 12

**(16th June, 19:17, Waxing Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twelve – Hell Isn't Anyone's Home**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

After a minute Sakai felt the feeling subside and her feet touch ground in a place she was sure to be Hell and she felt afraid to open her eyes, afraid to look up and acknowledge where she had landed. She felt Baal let go of her arm.

"You're on your own now." He said as she heard his footstep part from her, immediately her eyes snapped open and she ran after him.

"WHAT? You're just going to leave me here?" She yelled at him as she looked around herself, the place was filled with lava and endless fires, there were demons everywhere! She could barely make out their figures or appearances because of the glow of the fire but all of them were as disgusting as the next.

"Yes." Baal said as he continued to walk and she continued to run after him.

"No! You dragged me here! I didn't want to come at the end and you forced me! You can't just leave me here to get killed!" She insisted and he looked at her and once more her eyes fell on the flesh on his face, it was so bizarre.

"Yes, I can, now stop following me." He said as he turned around and started to walk away again, Sakai stared at him flabbergasted and completely helpless. He was just going to leave her here, on her own to die or be killed.

"You're a real bastard, did you know that?" She yelled after him and this turned the head of a few demons and Baal turned towards her, his eyes shone dangerously in the light of the fires around them; he stared at her for about a minute before turning away from her and starting to walk again. Once more he left her speechless, he was really just going to leave her here?

She stared after him as his figure disappeared into the endless realm of Hell and she felt the little fight she had left in herself disappear along with his figure. What was she going to do now?

She looked around herself, at all the demons who had suddenly formed a circle around her, as if to examine her and she wasn't sure about their intellectual level but she had a feeling it was less than that of her companion and that frightened her.

"Hello." She said towards them and they just continued to stare at her, she saw some of them come closer to her and her instincts told her to run as fast as she could manage but it was impossible with them knitted so closely around her.

None of them made a reply at her greeting, though she knew they acknowledged it, she could see that in their eyes. Why were they circling her like this? Did they smell the 'human' on her? She growled and took off her hood to reveal her demonic appearance unless they were making the mistake that she was human, or still human.

Her theory was proven correct as she saw some of them lose interest and start to wander off, she gave a sigh of relief as this created the perfect gap for her escape and within a minute she had bolted out between them and was running towards some sort of castle in the middle of nowhere.

x.X.x

Baal walked into his previous throne room and looked around it, it hadn't changed a bit in the last 1000 years and he was relieved, it was a sense of home. He spotted a demon standing outside his room and growled at him. "Do you not know who I am?" He hissed and the demon came into view, it was a small demon from the forests of Kurast and it looked at Baal with curious eyes.

"No." It replied in a squeaky voice that grated on Baal's nerves, he hissed at the little demon that seemed to be torn between curiosity and the desire to run for it.

"The name is Baal – I am back." He said and the little demon immediately stood upright, his eyes the size of plates as he stared at the Lord of Destruction, the King of Hell. Baal watched as the demon was unable to move or even speak.

Baal walked towards his throne and sat down in it as he stared at the demon. "I want you to be a messenger." He said and demon gave a quick nod, he knew arguing would earn him nothing but the death penalty. "Inform everyone in Hell of my return and prepare for the release of my brother Diablo, we will break the seals." He said and the tiny demon squeaked a reply and ran off to do the bidding of their Lord.

Baal gave a sigh of obvious relief at being home as he ran his fingers over the granite structure of his throne and looked around the room; he was finally home and he would finally free his brother who had long been a captive and he would use the girl Sakai to do it for him.

She didn't know it but only a human could release Diablo from the seals and it was one of the reasons he had decided to bring her with and then abandon her. She would barely survive a day in Hell and if he came to her offering sanctuary IF she proved her rites by doing this little 'task' she would surely do it.

It was easy anyway, all she had to do was stand on each seal and he would be released, though they could've dragged a human into Hell to do that it was a bit difficult considering it would have to be out of free will.

There was no reason to refuse.

x.X.x

Sakai hadn't stopped running until she had reached the inside of the castle and she was exhausted from running so fast, she put her hands on her knees and heaved a couple of times and that's when she heard the yelling, a squeaky irritating noise.

"Baal is back!" She looked up and saw this tiny little demon bouncing through the castle as if he was high on caffeine or another substance. She saw that one sentence caught the attention of every single demon in the vicinity, even some demons from outside came inside to hear what he was going on about.

A huge demon suddenly pushed passed Sakai and she fell back in shock, he was HUGE, probably half the size of her house and taller, he was a dull green color and wings sprouted from his face, a horn on each side of his head and he was a tower of muscle. She suddenly felt small and inferior and when she saw the little demon cower in front of him she wondered how he felt.

"Your lies will get you nowhere little one." He hissed out and Sakai stood back, watching what she was sure would turn into a fight and then murder, what chance would this little creature stand against such a colossal beast?

The little demon took a few steps back and looked around, as if wanting to see if anyone else wanted to pummel him because of his words. She was actually more curious as to who this Baal was that was so important.

"It's not a lie!" He squeaked and Sakai felt her irritation rise at that voice. "He's in his throne room, he returned today! He told me to be the messenger!" He finished at almost immediately the bulking demon had the little one by his neck, squeezing it hard.

Sakai gasped in shock as she was busy watching the tiny demon die before her eyes. Before she knew what came over her she had yelled out in protection of the little demon. "Stop that!" She yelled and the big demon turned to her with a look of venom in his eyes.

"Stay out of this lizard." He hissed and she shook her head.

"No! How do you even know he's lying! Go check Baal's throne room for confirmation!" She yelled and the big demon did nothing to acknowledge her plea as he snapped the neck of the little one, tossing his limp body down on the ground and to her disgust some demons moved in to feast upon the corpse.

Sakai put her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming out at the blatant murder she had just witnessed and the horrible act of cannibalism she was seeing.

The big demon gestured to another little one. "Go see if it was a lie." He said and then turned to Sakai, his eyes burning an emerald color that wanted to make _her _run away, though she was positively pissed off and revolted at the murder of the tiny demon, though she tried to avoid looking or hearing of how they feasted on his body.

"You don't know your place here demon." He said angrily at Sakai glared daggers at him as she stood her ground. "You will soon learn in." He growled at her and she huffed as she crossed her arms.

"There is no justice in murdering your own kind." She said angrily as the huge demon advanced on her menacingly, though she kept her ground, not wavering from the spot even if she felt her insides twist into a knot out of fear.

"Are you going to stop me?" He asked with a laugh and now she took a step back. "Hmmm beautiful?" He mocked and that was the second time she had heard a demon call her beautiful, perhaps her soul wasn't so dark if they considered her 'pretty', though she sure as Hell didn't think she would win any beauty contests.

"Next time I might try." She threatened, though it seemed the big demon only found it amusing as he let out another hoarse laugh and shook his head. "I'm not joking." She insisted and he laughed again.

"I know you weren't, that's what's so funny; what exactly are you going to do to me, you're tiny!" He mocked and she balled her fists, she would bite his bloody kneecaps if he said one more thing about her size or how inferior she was.

"I dare you to say that again." She hissed out and he opened his mouth as he was about to repeat himself when the tiny demon he sent off came running in, he seemed to have lost several shades of color while he was gone because he was sheet white.

"He's back!" He yelled and the big demon lost his interest in Sakai as he turned towards the tiny demon, his eyes wide as well as he turned a similar shade as the little demon. He stood rigid as he watched the tiny demon for any sign of a lie but he found none.

"Are you sure it's not an intruder!" He yelled finally and Sakai was flabbergasted, who was this Baal to invoke such fear in these demons? They seemed thoroughly petrified! She looked at all the other demons in the area and they were just as still and white as the tiny and big demon.

The little demon shook his head. "No, not an intruder! He bears the mark of the stone!" He yelled out and then ran away, leaving everyone in a state of panic and Sakai in a state of confusion.

The big demon took it upon himself to announce the obvious. "Baal is back! You all know what this means! He will want an army so we must be prepared! Hell has a ruler again and the castle belongs to him once more!" He said and then looked towards Sakai, gave her one look and then ran off.

Every single demon around her did the same thing; they all went running out of the castle, as if it was forbidden to be inside with this _Baal_ demon back.

Sakai was curious though and she started to walk through the now silent castle, this was the perfect time to examine the castle and maybe warn any other demons to evacuate, maybe that would earn her some respect if she saved their lives because it seemed this demon invoked a lot of respect and fear.


	13. Chapter 13

**(16th June, 20:26, Waxing Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Thirteen – The Release of Diablo**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai had found a few demons in the castle and had announced the news and the same reaction was invoked in them as with everyone else, they had turned paper white and ran for it without even thanking her, as if thanking her would cause a second to pass and a second was everything while they had to get out of the castle.

She was now on the second floor of the castle and it was as quiet as a graveyard, there was no one in sight so she continued to walk around the castle and that's when she heard something to her side, from one of the biggest rooms in the castle.

She walked inside and felt surprise when she saw her companion shuffling around the room, walking up and down, as if sensing her he looked in her direction, but said nothing, he just stared at her.

"Hi again." She said angrily, remembering how he had abandoned her the second he was back in his home and she couldn't help but growl at him as well, it was a feral sound that slipped through her lips; though it seemed he found it amusing because he gave a wry smile.

"Why are you up here?" He asked and she wasn't sure whether she wanted to warn him about this Baal person or not, personally she would've liked to see him demolished by the hands of the 'King of Hell' and then watch as the demons ate him.

"Because I'm doing my civic duty." She said irritated, she was doing that by warning the demons that Baal was back, though she wasn't sure whether she wanted to extend that favor to _him_, though that would make her a hypocrite, with a growl she realized she was going to warn him whether she wanted to or not.

"Would you stop growling and snarling like an animal, it doesn't become you." He said and she only now realized she was still growling softly and immediately she stopped and stared at him in silence for a few seconds.

"As much as it pains me to do this I guess I should warn you about some 'King of Hell' being back." She said and she could see he wanted to laugh, though he kept it in check and that confused her, why would he laugh about that and why would he try to hide his laughter?

"I know." He said and she looked at him shocked for a few seconds.

"Then why aren't you the color of snow or running out of the castle like everyone else?" She asked and he laughed now as he went to sit on some type of chair that looked too big to seat him, though he seemed at home in it. Only then did she realize this specific room in the castle was actually kind of nice, it held a bed in the far corner and a table, though neither was in good condition and the rest of the room was adorned with a few portraits and candles that were burning, lighting up the gloom of the room.

"I can ask you the same thing." He said, now eyeing her, waiting for an answer.

"Oh well, I guess I was curious and I decided to take it upon myself to warn the demons who doesn't know." She said and Baal laughed loudly now.

"To earn some 'favor' points I guess?" He asked and she huffed as she looked away from him out of anger and frustration.

"Yes, I guess, because I'm not a very good person now am I?" She asked out of irritation and he stood up from the chair again and walked towards her.

"Well, if you were you'd still be human." He mocked and she glowered at him angrily and once again a growl slipped through her teeth, when she saw the look on his face she immediately stopped and just looked away from him, crossing her arms.

"Are you interested in earning some favor points with this 'King of Hell'?" He asked with a laugh and she looked at him, uncertain whether he was pulling her leg or mocking her, though she gave a nod; if he wasn't joking it would be a very good thing if she got this Baal guy on her side.

"Good, because there is a way, something only you can do." He said and seemed to be fully interested now as she waved for him to continue. "There is a demon here called Diablo, he is sealed away by five seals…" He said and immediately saw the confusion on her face. "…which only a human can break." He finished and her confusion turned to understanding, but then to annoyance.

"I'm not human anymore in case you've forgotten." She huffed as she uncrossed her arms, but Baal gave a laugh once more.

"It doesn't matter, the seal will still recognize you as human because you were born one, it still lingers in your blood." He said and she gave a nod, not really understanding why her blood would still be considered human; it was green after all which, in her opinion, was very far from human.

"Fine, I'll do it or try to do it." She said and immediately she saw how Baal's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands together in joy.

"Perfect! When do you want to do it?" He asked and she didn't know why he was getting so excited over this, it wasn't his victory after all, though it would earn her points in Hell; though it would make every aware of the fact that she was a human.

"Whenever it suits you." She said absent-mindedly, though she was shocked when she felt Baal grab her hand and start to drag her out of the room and towards the stairs leading down towards the hall of the castle with a newfound passion.

"Hey!" She yelled in annoyance. "Slow down!" She squealed as she was literally bounding down the stairs with the speed he was going down. Baal stopped and looked at her for a second, before starting to drag her down at a slower pace, one she could keep up with.

When they finally reached the bottom floor she glared at him. "You really are fast on your feet." She said and Baal didn't answer her as he continued to drag her towards an open area and she only now noticed in the middle of the room was a pentagram platform and beneath it was lava; five bridges were leading towards the platform, one connected to each point on the pentagram.

"Is this the seal?" She asked and Baal shook his head as he started to drag her towards a passageway on the far end, one of five it seemed.

"No, the seals are within each of these passages and all you have to do is stand on them to activate them." He stopped and suddenly looked at her seriously. "There is one warning though." He started and she saw he was dead serious about the warning.

"Yes?" She enquired as he now continued to pull her into the passage. "What is it?" She pressed more, seeing he was being a bit too silent again.

"Diablo will attack you the instant he is released because he will smell you and he knows only a human can release him so he will be looking for you so that he can kill you." He said and Sakai stopped dead, refusing to be dragged further by Baal.

"Then I'm not doing it, I'm not willing to die for 'favor' points I'll never get to use." She said as she started to pull Baal away, back towards the stairs, though he quickly stopped her and started to drag her towards the first seal with force.

"There is a minute delay from when the seals is activated to him appearing in full, I want you to use that minute to run up to my room and stay there. He won't follow you there and I will explain; but the second you break the last seal." He said pointing towards the passageway closest to the stairs. "I want you to run until you reach my courtiers." He said and Sakai judged the distance between the last passageway and the stairs; a minute would be more than enough.

"Alright, but this better earn me a lot of favor." She said and he just gave a solemn nod as they reached the end of the passageway and she could see a circular dish on the ground with engravings on it. "Is that the seal?" She asked and Baal nodded.

"Yes, go stand on it." He instructed and she walked towards it and stepped on it, going to stand in the middle and almost immediately the engravings cracked open to reveal a red/orange light between the cracks, it shone up through the cracks and she entranced by the beauty of it.

"It worked!" Baal yelled in obvious joy and that snapped Sakai out of her gaze as she looked at him, realizing he was right, she stepped off the seal and saw it was still activated; so she was still human enough to do this, she wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, considering her situation.

"What now?" She asked and he took hold of her hand as he started to drag her towards the next seal, his brother would be released soon!

x.X.x

Sakai stood on the final seal and as soon as it was lit she felt Baal pull her off. "Run!" He yelled towards her and she had almost forgotten about his warning, but immediately she nodded and sped off, she felt the ground tremble beneath her feet as she ran.

As she got out of the passageway and was by the stairs she spared a glance towards the pentagram platform and felt herself freeze when she saw a giant head emerge from the platform that had cracked open like an egg. The head was huge; a curved horn on either side and this demon was the color of blood.

She stood before the stairs and watched in horror as the most terrifying demon she had ever seen emerge from the lava beneath, he let out a roar and it shook her to her core, she couldn't move, she was frozen.

The demon was out to his shoulders now and he made the huge demon she saw earlier look like a mouse, he was the size of her house and more, he was a bulking mass of muscles, meant to kill and frighten. Could this be the demon that had terrorized all those people so many years ago?

What had she just released upon the world?


	14. Chapter 14

**(16th June, 20:37, Waxing Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Fourteen – Fear itself can't save you**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

Thank you so much to J. JAKE for letting me know I uploaded my Harry Potter Chapter instead of Diablo, I wouldn't even have known! Thanks!

**x.X.x**

Sakai saw him staring at her, they were like glowing embers burning her with each stare and she felt her breath being knocked away. This was unreal, _he _was unreal, how could anything so frightening exist? She wanted to run, she wanted to move but she found that she was rooted to the spot out of fear as if her entire figure was frozen over.

As all thought left her she felt Baal grab her and shake her. "Are you crazy woman, I said run not stare!" He yelled and immediately after yelling did he notice her frozen expression, he growled and drew back his hand, swiping it across her face in one smooth motion that caused her backpack to fall from her shoulder and fall to the ground with a soft thud. He watched as his slap settled in and she came back to her full-positive. "Run!" He repeated and she stared at him shocked and then looked at the emerging Diablo, who was staring at her with hatred.

She gave a quick nod and started to run up the stairs, not daring to look back and Baal growled in frustration, he knew his brother would kill her if she was close by when he was fully released from his prison and he might still have a need for her.

Baal walked up to the platform calmly now, seeing that his brother was now on the last few seconds of imprisonment, only his feet were still enslaved.

Baal stopped when he was right in front of Diablo, who was now fully released and shaking himself, as if to get rid of any lingering confines. Once he had shaken himself off he directed his gaze towards Baal, staring at the demon before him with a bit of confusion.

"Who are you?" He asked in a voice that could make children cry. "Why did you protect the demon than reeks of humanity?" He hissed out now and Baal raised his hand to silence him. "Do not silence me demon!" He roared in anger and Baal stared at his brother angrily.

"That is no way to speak to your brother, let alone your superior." Baal said calmly and Diablo fell silent as he examined the demon before him that bore no resemblance to the Baal he knew, though he could smell the power of the demon before him and with that sense all doubt melted away.

"Baal?" He rasped out and Baal nodded. "You released me?" He asked and Baal nodded again as he took a few steps away from Diablo, giving him enough space to get off the platform, that had sealed again, and walk onto the castle floor.

"Yes, the demon you just saw actually did it, she was turned into a demon because of a curse, yet she still had enough humanity in her to release you." He said and Diablo gave a nod as he stretched out, his muscles rippling with every move he made.

"I suppose I owe her thanks then." He said as he looked around the castle. "What's the news of this world?" He asked now and Baal went to sit down on one of the granite benches against the wall as he looked at his little brother.

"I'm not exactly sure; I only escaped my own prison a few days ago, though I must say that I feel the humans have gotten too confident in the time of our absence." He said and Diablo gave a groan as he started to mutate into his human form, slowly getting smaller as his horns, scales and spikes fell of his body and obliterated as it hit the ground.

When it was done Baal looked away. "Brother…" He said in slight shame and Diablo looked down at himself.

"I don't suppose you have extra clothing?" He asked and Baal still adverted his gaze from his brothers exposed body as he stood up and walked towards the fallen backpack of Sakai, suddenly grateful for the slap he gave her as it had caused her to drop it and leave it behind.

He picked it up and walked back to Diablo, he opened the bag and started to go through it, throwing everything onto the ground. He found female clothing, some meat that wasn't so fresh anymore, matches, firelighters and finally he found what he was looking for, her spare cape.

He took it out and gave it to Diablo, tossing the empty backpack on top of its previous contents, he wasn't about to pick it up again; she could do it if it meant so much to her. He heard as Diablo dressed himself and waited patiently for him to finish.

"You can look now." Diablo said with a laugh and Baal looked at him now, he looked more human than most humans when in this form and Baal wished he had acquired the trait of just being able to transform at will into a human and back into a demon; no, he had to wait for his flesh to grow up like some bloody fruit tree.

"What happened to you that you look like this?" Diablo asked as he examined his brother properly for the first time, he hadn't even recognized him when he had seen him for the first time. His brother was a disgrace of his former self, despite his power being the same.

"Being chained to a pillar with fire eating at my flesh really took its toll on me brother." He said as he went to sit down on the bench again, Diablo going to sit next to him.

"I see your flesh is growing back though, how long before it's complete?" He asked and Baal thought for a few seconds.

"I'm not exactly sure, probably a week or more." He said and Diablo looked around at the empty castle.

"I take it you announced you are back?" He asked with a laugh and Baal nodded. "I thought so; this castle wouldn't be empty for any other reason than your return." He mused.

"Yes, though the girl does not know I am Baal." He said and Diablo stared at his brother in shock, why would he not reveal that to her?

"Why does she not know?" He asked and Baal shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't want her to know for some reason, she knows about 'Baal the King of Hell' being back, but she does not know it is I, nor does she know you're my brother. Will you respect it if I asked you to avoid divulging this information to her?" Baal asked as he looked at his brother, waiting for an answer.

After a minute Diablo nodded. "Yes, I will do as you ask, though it's not like you to want to hide your heritage." He said and Baal nodded as he looked around the castle.

"I know, though I prefer that she doesn't know, she isn't a demon after all, not a true one." He said and Diablo stared at his brother with a worried look.

"I know, though what bothers is me that you usually went out of your way to let mortals know who you are." He said and Baal shrugged his shoulders again as he continued to look around the castle, adverting his gaze from the floor to the ceiling.

"Does it really matter why I want this brother?" He asked and Diablo was silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Then we will leave it." Baal said as he got up.

"What will happen now, that both of us are free?" Diablo asked and Baal looked at his brother and smirked.

"Prepare the armies brother, we're making war." He said and there was no mistake about the glint in both of their eyes, a glint of desire for battle and blood. They were going to get revenge on the humans for causing them to be imprisoned.


	15. Chapter 15

**(17th June, 01:00, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Fifthteen – Desire is no Comparison to Fear**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**Thanks a million again to Jake for letting me know about the chapter, you're a real star and let me know when you've read this chapter!**

**x.X.x**

Sakai was pacing the room, she had no idea what had happened to her companion, he hadn't returned yet and she was starting to think that the demon Diablo had decided to eat or kill him. The only thought that was worse than that one was the thought that that demon was roaming around the castle trying to find her.

She shuddered as she continued to pace up and down the room anxiously, how long would it take for the beast to find a way up to where she was? Perhaps he would break through the flooring and drag her down. She shuddered again as she stopped pacing, afraid the faint noise would give the demon a clue of where she was.

She gave a hopeless sigh. 'Why did I ever open my mouth to that old witch?' She asked herself as she considered how her life would've been if she either ignored the witch, was nice to her or actually gave her shelter; none of that was as bad as this. Nothing on earth was as bad as this situation she was in now.

She was about to scream into her companions pillow when she heard something coming towards the room, at first she felt panic but soon it subsided as she heard it was light footfalls instead of the heavy type that Diablo would make.

Soon her companion came into the room and he was completely unscathed as far as she could see, she sighed in relief, this meant that beast hadn't tried to kill or eat him. She was _safe_, for now at least.

"I thought you'd be asleep already." He said as he looked at her and she stared at him, still trying to find some sign of physical damage on him.

"No… I was too nervous." She confided and Baal laughed as he went to his chair and sat down, leaning his head back against the granite; he closed his eyes and smiled.

"Diablo has no interest in killing you anymore." He said and Sakai found that more comforting that he could ever imagine, the only thing she was able to think about the last few hours was how that demon would kill her if he founds her.

"That's… really great, but why doesn't he?" She couldn't resist asking the question and she waited for Baal to snap at her for asking a question, but instead he just continued to sit in his chair and smile; she found this bizarre as he wasn't this friendly usually.

"I told him what you are; he is currently planning out and recruiting an army to attack the humans." He said and Sakai didn't find that information comforting at all, she _was _a human and she didn't really like the idea of an army of demons attacking them, even if she didn't like humans much she didn't want them to be wiped out.

"Why do you want to attack the humans, they are much weaker than your kind is?" She asked and Baal scoffed at her reply, and then just shook his head.

"You would never understand." He said placidly and she wanted to understand, she wanted to know more, she wanted to know why he wanted to annihilate her race.

"Then make me understand!" She yelled at him softly out of irritation, though the softness of her voice was purely to avoid alerting Diablo; even if Baal said he had no interest in murdering her she still felt the need to be cautious.

"No, this war doesn't not concern you, you are of neither side anymore and I would prefer if you stayed out of it."He saw she was about to argue so he glared at her. "Or you will regret it." He hissed and she took a step back in surprise as she lowered her head.

"Have it your way." She grunted as she started to pace the room again. "Where can I sleep in this hellhole?" She asked after a second and Baal looked at her.

"I suggest you start to think positively about the place where you'll be staying." He said and she just continued to glare at him. "Though you may rest upon my bed, I don't plan to sleep for a few more hours." He said and she looked at him, obvious hesitation in her eyes but he could see the thought of sleeping against a wall fight against that hesitation.

"Fine." She muttered as she walked towards the bed and sat down on it. "Thank you." She whispered, barely audible and Baal just nodded at her sentence, he had no problem whether she thanked him or not, he was a demon after all, it meant little to him.

"I will wake you when I require rest." He said as he left the room and she stared after him like a hawk, half suspecting he would turn around and tell her it was a joke, that she had to sleep wherever she found comfortable, except his bed; but he just walked out of the room without looking back at her.

She gave a sigh of relief as she flopped backwards on the bed, spreading her arms; her body was aching and she felt exhaustion creep in under her skin. "Fine." She muttered as she closed her eyes.

She needed to rest.


	16. Chapter 16

**(17th June, 09:00, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Sixteen – The Evil of Anger**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**Right, so I've decided I'm going to put more 'environmental quality' to my story, you know, add a few lines to make it more dramatic and 'pretty' in a sense.**

**Feedback is welcome and appreciated, thank you for the reviews so far, I wasn't really expecting to get reviews on a Diablo story.**

**Do you prefer this way of writing or the previous one with almost no explanations of surrounding, etc?**

**x.X.x**

Sakai felt like she was in a dream, everything was hazy and her vision was filled with smoke as she opened her eyes; she tried to look around the almost barren room; only to be met with the sulfuric smoke around her, layering her skin with a grayish substance that looked similar to ash but she identified it as brick matter and cement, it was oozing from the ceiling, firstly in a puff of smoke and then settling as cement dust.

She could see the thin particles swim before her vision and it took her a moment to realize she was struggling to breathe in the thick haze of smoke coming from above, she could hear loud thumps from the room above and she didn't know what to think about it until she started to hear voices.

"Calm yourself!" She heard a voice resonate from above with almost perfect clarity, he was yelling loudly and she felt herself shiver as she stood up and ran to the glassless window for air, taking a moment to examine her arms, they were matted a grayish color from the cement dust, it resulted in a funny pigment on her green skin.

The dust still spewed from the ceiling, coming out of the window in puffs as she examined the landscape provided from the view of the window, it was horrible, rivers of lava ran along the surface like an inland waterway and there wasn't a tree in sight; the land was blackened to the color of charcoal and she could see various demonic activities occurring below that could only be described as inhumane. Instead she directed her attention to the sky and was both surprised and appalled at what she saw; the sky was the color of molten lava and it swirled around heavy grayish clouds, soundless thunder could be seen above the clouds, creating webs of electricity that seemed to be endless.

She could see the window of the room from where the commotion came and once again the voices caught her attention, she heard incoherent drawling, that almost sounded like growling, come from above and then the voice she heard previously.

"Diablo!" The voice yelled and she found out two things on that second, that horrific huge red beast was in the room above her and she had no idea how he got there and that he was the one making the roof almost collapse. She looked back into the room and up at the ceiling, she could see cracks forming along the surface and panic surged in her, what would happen if the roof DID collapse? She continued to watch in a sort of trance as the cracks continued to snake along the surface.

"Diablo, if you don't calm down right now I'm tossing you out of the window!" The opposing voice screamed now in a sort of hiss, but it sounded puny and inferior to the sound of Diablo growling and groaning in fury from above.

Sakai felt a giggle escape her mouth, even in her trance she could appreciate the beauty of that comment, she could barely imagine the force of a ton shifting that beast an inch and here a demon was threatening to 'shove' him out of the window like a ragdoll; not even to mention the force it would take to break down the wall to get him out of the window, or create one that was big enough for him to fit through. Considering it could take the stampede of the giant above that would break through usual flooring like it was rice paper.

She heard the roar of Diablo as he continued to pace the room and how he got up there still eluded her and suddenly she heard a voice so terrifying it made her freeze over and turn several shades paler.

"Baal, don't try to calm me down in a situation like this! You might be my brother but it will bring you no good that you're threatening me!" He hissed out and Sakai felt her body shake awake as if a thousand needles stung her at once.

She had freed the brother of Baal and this puny inferior voice she had heard was Baal, the King of Hell? She felt her body shake at the closeness she had to both of them, she was mere feet away from them, even if they were separated by a rapidly eroding roof.

"Because you're destroying my room and GOD FORBID you're going on like a child about an easily controlled situation!" Baal screamed and Sakai leaned against the wall as she felt herself get faint, this couldn't get worse, his room was above hers, could it really be that close?

She ran for the door, putting her arm over her head to avoid more of the dust covering her, the smokescreen of dust still around her and it made her choke as the particles entered her lungs. When she reached the door she looked back into the room, she couldn't even see the window through the smog.

"Run girl… just run." She muttered to herself and suddenly she fled down the stairs, running as fast as her two legs could carry her, away from Baal and Diablo, away from two extremely powerful demons, away from being crushed beneath their weight and anger and away from what she got dragged into.

x.X.x

Baal glared at Diablo with an anger that could melt the glaciers, he had grown sick with his brother's anger over something as pathetic as the angels figuring out a way into Hell that did not consist of passing by Mephisto.

"I swear it's that bloody human you brought along!" Diablo bellowed as he continued to pace. "Entertaining a human! Hah! I can't believe you would stoop so low! _You _of all demons!" Diablo roared as he stomped his foot hard against the floor, a crack appeared and a loud hollow sound came from beneath.

"Diablo!" Baal roared in return, advancing on his brother menacingly. "You will cease this anger immediately! If you destroy my room beneath I swear to GOD I will return you to your seals or use you as a pillar to keep the roof up!" Baal snarled as he was standing right in front of Diablo, making him cease his pacing.

"Since when had you been concerned about a room, it's because that pathetic little morsel is sleeping in there isn't it?" Diablo asked with a mocking undertone that could only be identified as an insult. Baal glared daggers at his brother as his chest heaved in anger, his eyes shone a brighter amber that almost looked like liquid gold at his growing anger.

"Do not test my patience." He said very slowly as he took a menacing step towards his brother. "The human has nothing to do with my room; it is purely the fact that you'll be destroying something that is mine." Baal finished, his eyes still swirling dangerously as he stood rigid.

Diablo scoffed and suddenly smirked, his facial muscles pulling tight around his glowering orbs for eyes, even his horns seemed to perk up with the action of his smile. "The human or the room?" He asked scornfully, losing the smirk and replacing it with a grimace; that in turn made his face look dire and dark.

Though nothing could compare to the look that Baal gave in turn, every feature on him turned dark as he ran the answer Diablo gave through his head a thousand times in a second; and his iris seemed to burst as his eyes turned completely amber, filling up the entire eye socket as his rage soared.

With a one swift movement Baal had pushed Diablo right through the castle wall, debris scattered around the room as he heard the roar of his brother, plummeting over four stories down, considering the height of the castle.

x.X.x

Sakai was outside, treading across the charcoaled ground carefully, afraid of burning herself and receiving quite a few glances from the demons around her, when she heard the horrible roar of Diablo. She and every other Demon around the castle and even beyond turned towards the noise and she sucked in her breath as she saw the huge red demon plummet to the ground.


	17. Chapter 17

**(17th June, 09:15, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Sixteen – A Full Moon Shines Brightest**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai watched as the towering demon hit the ground with a loud thud that made the very ground tremble, a large puff of black smoke spat into the air where his body collided with the ground. Immediately all the demons started to run away from the scene and she didn't understand why until she heard his devastating roar as he started to lift himself up from the ground; collapsing once as the shock of the fall still radiated through his body.

They were running to avoid his rage, Sakai could see the smog still around him as he struggled to get up, she knew he couldn't see her, yet at least, so she scanned the surroundings from a good hiding place; she would never get away as fast as the other demons and she was pretty sure he could run a lot faster than she could.

She spotted a boulder a few feet away from her and immediately ducked behind it, allowing herself to peek around the side to keep an eye on the developments with Diablo, she was too curious not to, though she sincerely hoped he didn't feel like smashing a boulder.

What was truly remarkable to her was how Baal had managed to toss this demon out of the window, Baal sounded no larger than the average demon, and even if he did possess incredible power she saw no way that he could've tossed this beast from the building. Especially since they were brothers she imagined they were equally matched in strength, though not size.

She tore her thoughts away from that as she saw Diablo rise, his towering bulk of red starting to appear above the smog and only now did she realize how huge he was; he rose higher than four meters and was the size of a house. He let out another terrifying roar as he looked up at the window, now broken wall, that he was thrown from.

She continued to watch as he stared at the room, she thought that Baal was perhaps staring down at him and as much as she wanted to know what he looked like she couldn't see around corners and she wouldn't allow herself to be stupid enough to move from her spot to go look.

"You will behave yourself from henceforth!" She heard Baal yell and Diablo let out another roar. "Now come back up so that we can discuss this situation!" Baal finished angrily, obviously still upset at Diablo's attitude.

Diablo growled loudly as he looked around for something to pummel but didn't find a single demon around, he could smell them, along with the disgusting human, but he couldn't see them and he doubted pummeling a demon would help very much as he would prefer to pummel his brother at the very moment.

"I'm coming!" He roared up at him and Sakai stared in wonder as he started to walk towards the castle doors, they weren't big enough for him to fit through and she was speculating whether he would break it down when something remarkable happened.

She saw him decrease in size along with his horns and spikes falling off and as they hit the ground they vanished, she watched as a human skin tone started to web itself around his scales and turn them to the shade of a slightly tanned human.

With utter amazement she found herself looking at a human man, completely naked and staring in her direction as he looked around; he could've passed as a normal man! He could've walked through their streets without invoking the smallest bit of suspicion!

She gasped softly and almost immediately she saw him look in her direction, she ducked behind the boulder and put her hand over her mouth to pretend any more sound escaping her. How could this be? She didn't know demons could pose as humans or even had the capability to look like one!

Despite her surprise she felt frightened of whether he would come investigate the sound; she kept her ears trained for the smallest indication of footsteps in her direction, closing her eyes but all she could hear was her rapid heartbeat.

This continued for a few minutes when she finally felt that she was safe and he had entered the castle without noticing her. She removed her hand from her mouth, peaking out around the boulder and allowed herself a small sigh of relief, he wasn't there.

She pulled herself up and turned around, still behind the boulder than covered her until her waist, and felt her heart stop as she was staring into the red eyes of Diablo.


	18. Chapter 18

**(17th June, 09:20, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Eighteen – Confrontation Avoided**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai stared into the eyes of Diablo in disbelief, how had she missed the noise he made approaching her? She didn't imagine he was used to being quiet, considering what a bulk of a demon he was – or perhaps that stomping of his was him being quiet in his demonic form.

She looked down towards his hands, which were resting on the boulder and barely managed to hold in her gasp as she saw the boulder heat up and crack under his touch, he was emitting incredible heat through his mere hands!

She removed her gaze from his hands looked up at his face, the piercing redness of his eyes giving her the chills once more; she watched as Diablo's face turned into a smirk that reminded her once more of a normal human, yet he wasn't.

"Nice to finally meet you up close." He said and despite his polite greeting she could see the rage burning in his eyes and the heat being emitted through his hands; he was everything but happy at the moment and she felt like she was going to be the 'chew' toy for this beast.

She took a deep breath, regardless of how much fear she felt at the start when she saw him she couldn't contain her anger now, she felt it boiling over and suddenly glared at Diablo with as much ferocity as he was at her. "Listen, I know you want nothing more than to see me lying on the ground dead, so please, cut the formalities and get on with it." She snarled at him and with the snarl the memory of her companion telling her she sounded like an animal came back to her; so she relaxed her face though her anger continued to surge through her body like a wildfire.

Diablo kept his calm demeanor as he continued to smile at her, though his eyes and hands were burning hotter than Hell as he stared her down. "Of course, now give me your cape." He said with the smile still plastered on his face like he was a mannequin.

Sakai took a step back in surprise at his request. "Excuse me?" She muttered in confusion, her anger vanishing almost immediately because of his command.

Diablo gave a frustrated snort, the smile vanishing from his face. "I realize you're not particularly observant, but I would've thought that it's quite obvious I have a lack of clothing." He said as his face pulled into a scowl and he lifted his heated hand from the boulder and held it out to her. "Cape if you will." He said as all signs of politeness eluded him at the moment.

"I take it that's not really a choice." She muttered as she started to take it off, at least she had clothing underneath, though she was sure her backpack was nowhere to be found anymore as she had left it when she ran from Diablo and now he was stealing her clothes and she was just _giving _it to him.

When she was done taking it off she looked at Diablo, the cape in her hand, not yet extending it towards him. "If I give this to you you're going to turn hostile on me, aren't you?" She asked and the smile returned to his face, though she was unsure of what it meant.

"Give it to me and find out." He offered as he continued to hold out his hand and she gave a sigh, giving him the cape and taking a step back while looking down as he dressed himself, there were certain things she didn't want to see on a human or demon man.

When she felt he had enough to time to get dressed she looked up at him; and sure enough, he was dressed and staring at her. "Well?" She asked him, despite her calm demeanor she was shaking inside; she had no idea whether he would kill her, harm her or just leave her.

He gave her an irritated look. "What do you want? An apology for taking it and a thank you for receiving it? This is Hell girl, learn the language and manners." He said as he turned around and started to walk away; leaving her completely flabbergasted.

She stared at him as he continued to walk towards the castle, completely oblivious to her and she was wondering whether he was only taunting her; would he suddenly turn around and blast or something? She directed her eyes towards the boulder and saw the blackened area on the boulder in the shape of his hands and once more she shivered; how powerful was he?

More importantly, how powerful was this brother of his, the King of Hell, that he had enough power to shove Diablo, such a colossal beast, through a thick stone wall and actually budge him an inch to start with. She looked around her and saw some of the demons were returning to the castle grounds with hesitation.

Almost all of them looked at her, whether they witnessed what had happened or not, all of them were wondering why she was still alive after she had an encounter with Diablo; someone they obviously feared and for good reason; they didn't even compare to his strength.

She quickly ran away from them and towards the castle, whether she would be safe in there she didn't know, but it was better than being outside and having to stomach her neighbors and survive their looks of suspicion.

Besides, she could just go back to her companion's room since it didn't seem like Diablo would be losing his temper again with Baal around; or she hoped not. At least now she knew how he had gotten up to the third floor; he just turned…human.

The thought was still bizarre to her that he looked so much like a human when he was far from it; she shrugged off the thought as she entered the castle, running towards the stairs.

x.X.x

Baal was waiting patiently for his brother to come back up the stairs when he finally caught sight of him as he entered the room; though the first thing that caught his attention was the cape. "Where did you get the clothing?" he asked immediately.

Diablo glared at his brother, obviously still having a temper tantrum inside. "What? Can't you smell the human on it?" He asked mockingly and immediately Baal's eyes darkened as he stared at his brother, uncrossing his arms.

"Did you harm her?" He asked now, a hint of aggression in his voice as he contemplated whether his brother went against a direct order from him by harming the human girl; regardless of whether she was a demon now he still saw her as a human because of her behavior.

Diablo scoffed angrily. "No." He said irritated; he could've lied, but just like his brother he didn't have a particular liking towards liars. "I only asked her for the cape." He said, as if he was disappointed with himself for not actually harming the human.

"Good." Baal said as his eyes returned to their normal shade. "Have you calmed enough to listen to reason?" He asked and Diablo glared at him as he nodded.

"Yes." He said as he went to sit down. "Please continue." He said as he waved his hand.

x.X.x

Sakai reached her companions room and looked inside, the haze in the room was gone as all the dust went to settle; leaving the room with a grayish atmosphere as there was an inch of dust on everything, layering the place nicely.

"Oh great." She muttered as she walked inside, her feet making footprints in the dust as she walked into the room. She didn't know what her companion's reaction would be once he saw the room; she was expecting he would think it was her and probably evict her on the spot.

She went to the bed and patted the soft surface; immediately her vision was invaded by a haze of dust as all the particles shot into the air again. She coughed a few times and then went to lie down on the bed once the dust was off the sheets.

She barely had any sleep as Diablo and Baal had woken her up with their fight; five hours used to be enough for her, but these days she was so tired from everything, she felt like she could sleep days away without ever waking up.

She wondered whether she would sleep now; her companion hadn't returned, so that meant he didn't want to sleep now and only God knew when she would be able to sleep on a bed again.

"Rest it is then." She said as she closed her eyes and soon she felt the dust settle on her skin and sleep claiming her.


	19. Chapter 19

**(17th June, 16:11, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Nineteen – Almost Time to Change**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Baal was satisfied with the conversation he had with Diablo, they had gone over the problem strategically and Diablo no longer thought it was the end of the world now that the angels found an unguarded way into Heaven. It was purely because Baal could handle almost any angel, Diablo wasn't as lucky as some angels matched him in strength and a few could overpower him.

They would be forming their army soon anyway, if the angels came they wouldn't just have to deal with two brothers of the three prime evil's, they would have to deal with every demon in Hell and that would be too much for them to handle; that was why it was imperative to organize his army as soon as possible.

The scattered demons around Hell would help little in a fight, Diablo would have to go to the Plains of Despair and recruit the Pit Lords and lesser demons, Pit Lords made great captains and the lesser demons would be the pawns.

Everything was going perfectly, much better than he expected and it actually put him in a good mood, something he rarely found himself in. There was no reason to be joyous, he wasn't even particularly overwhelmed when he was released, only relieved and being free.

He sometimes felt completely devoid of emotion and it was perfect for him, the fewer emotions he bore within his soul the stronger he was; though he had to admit he had a soft spot for his brothers, they were, after all, his flesh and blood.

He gave a smile as he started to descend the stairs, he was almost at his room; he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it looked like, though he was at least positive that the roof didn't cave in as it was still intact when he left Diablo to his own devices; something that wasn't always the smartest thing to do as his brother had a strange hyper streak in him.

He faintly remembered the anger that had beset him when he thought his brother had assaulted the mortal girl and it confused him a bit as he thought about it; she had run her course by releasing Diablo so why was he keeping her alive or why did aggression take hold of him when he considered the prospect of Diablo harming her for the cape?

The shrugged it off as he finally reached his room and entered it, immediately he was greeted by a smoky atmosphere, almost like that of a tavern where everyone smoked, though it was obvious all the dust had settled, only that which were disturbed by his entrance floated in front of his face.

He searched for Sakai and saw she was asleep on the bed, without her cape and for the first time he actually saw her appearance in full. She looked almost exactly like a reptile; she had no hair, though he assumed she had when she was a human.

He walked to in front of her and looked down at her; she looked pained in her sleep and he wondered whether it was because of her transformation, it couldn't have been easy for her to step into Hell as a prior human and try to take up the role as a demon.

He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Wake up." He said with a feeling of sympathy for her that he couldn't place and wasn't sure he wanted to; because if he knew where it came from it might continue and he didn't want to feel sorry for a person, let alone a human; regardless of the situation she was in.

She didn't open her eyes so he gave her a slight shake and immediately they snapped open and stared at Baal and just as quickly as they snapped open they looked away from him. "What's the time?" Was the first thing she asked and Baal looked towards the window, it was almost impossible to tell time in Hell.

"Probably around noon." He said and she didn't say much as she sat up slowly, examining the room and herself, she was covered in dust as it had come to settle on her.

"Aren't you surprised at the condition of your room?" She asked and Baal gave a smirk and his eyes gleamed, almost kindly, but mostly because of amusement. She still hadn't put the pieces together to come to the conclusion of what he was, who he was.

"Not really, I know of what happened." He said and she gave a nod as she finally pulled herself off the bed, shaking the dust from her to reveal her glimmering green skin once more; she realized she preferred it gray; gray was closer to a human than green was.

"What exactly happened?" She asked as she was finally off the bed and remotely cleaned from the dust; staring intently at her companion now and once more she noticed more of the flesh growing on his skin, she decided she was going to ask about it as soon as she got the chance.

Baal stared at her for a few seconds before turning away. "Just a minor argument." He said as he started to walk towards the bed.

Sakai followed him with her eyes until she lost sight of him and then she turned, staring as he went to sit down on the bed, unfazed by the dust on the bed. "Sounded like more than an argument." She said and Baal snapped his head up.

"What did you hear?" He asked quickly, did she know who he was?

"Not much, just something about Diablo destroying his room; I ran outside then." She said and Baal almost gave a sigh of relief at her words; she didn't know. He wasn't even sure why he wanted to keep it secret from her; though he felt it was the right thing to do.

"I see." He said as she lay down on the bed. "I'm going to rest now; you can do whatever you want, except disturb me." He said and she gave a nod as she just stood still.

"Oh GOD!" Sakai suddenly yelled in horror, startling Baal as he sat up quickly, expecting to see the thing that horrified her; but found nothing as she continued to stare ahead with a blank expression on her face and then she turned to Baal, gave a smile towards him and suddenly bolted from the room.

Baal stared on in confusion; what did he just miss?

x.X.x

Sakai was down in the castle hall and was looking desperately for a place she could hide. It was a full moon! She would soon transform and here she was going to just stay around her companion! She didn't want to imagine his reaction if she did transform in front of him.

She continued to run around the room until she found a door; yanking it open she found an old abandoned cleaning cabinet. "Perfect." She muttered as she ran inside, closing the door behind her after making sure no one saw her going in.

She leaned against the wall and gave a sigh of relief; she couldn't afford that anyone found out about her; they would kill her on the spot or drag her to this Baal and he would probably murder her or torture her. The thought made her cringe as she hugged her arms around her body.

She hoped no one came looking for her until dawn at least because she couldn't think of a reasonable excuse for her disappearance. It was also a good thing her companion had woken her up when he did; imagine if he came two hours later and discovered a human sleeping in his bed? She cringed once more; she would not forget the next time she would transform.

She gave a weak smile; at least she would have the entire night to figure out what excuse to give if anyone asked about her disappearance.

x.X.x

Baal continued to stare at the spot she had been standing a minute before; why had she run like that? It wasn't out of fear that she ran and it was confusing him immensely.

"God… Woman…" He muttered as he lay his head back down on the pillow; he would ask her when he woke up and she knew better than to deny him an answer so he had nothing to worry about; except maybe the problem with the angels.

They were trying to pinpoint the location of the gate that the angel was using that wasn't guarded and that they didn't know about; it was frustrated as Hell was huge and they had to scourge every inch to find a portal.

He groaned; he had thought enough for one day, he needed to sleep to recuperate his energy and mind.


	20. Chapter 20

**(17th June, 19:15, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty – Changed at Last**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai had been sitting in the cleaning room for the past three hours when she felt something odd occur in her body; a subtle, but almost painful stab in her hands. She lifted them up and gasped as she saw her nails being pulled back into her skin.

"It's happening." She muttered as she continued to stare in awe; she felt her excellent night-vision diminish as everything started to go darker and darker around her until she couldn't see a thing; not even her hands anymore.

But she could _feel _everything.

She felt as her hands contracted painfully as they reshaped themselves to that of a humans, she felt as the scales on skin started to fade until only a smooth surface remained; her own skin.

The most amazing part was that she felt her hair growing from her head again until they were full length again.

She was still marveling in joy when a sudden hunger struck her like a brick, she grabbed her stomach and groaned; when last did she eat? Five days ago? She didn't really need or want to eat when she was a demon but now that she was a human again she felt the pain of hunger and her throat felt parched for water.

With a start she realized she was killing her human body by not eating! The thought brought tears to her eyes and soon she wept.

How could she have been so foolish to let her body die because she didn't feel hunger or didn't want to eat? She cried more because she realized she was going to have to eat and drink what demons had to and it made her sick to her stomach.

She put her head on her knees and continued to cry softly.

x.X.x

Baal's eyes snapped open with a start and he sat up almost immediately; he felt an odd sense of displacement and didn't understand it.

He got off the bed and looked around for any sign of the feeling; but as he expected, he found none. He walked towards the window and looked at the darkening sky; it was night already and still early. He hadn't slept long.

What had awoken him so suddenly?

He growled angrily as he realized what the feeling was; something unwelcome was in Hell, something that didn't belong.

He ran out of the room, heading straight to Diablo with the news: An Angel had just entered Hell.

x.X.x

Diablo was in his room, twiddling his thumbs as he sat on the windowsill; his feet hanging over the edge as he looked at the lighting webbing itself around and clouds; Hell had its own beautiful atmosphere; regardless of what anyone else felt.

He was still sitting when his door barged open and Baal came running in. "Come Brother!" He yelled and Diablo stared at him for a few second before swinging around and climbing off from the window; looking at his brother in confusion.

"What is the emergency?" Diablo asked as he looked at his brother; he looked jittery, almost excited, this was very unusual for Baal.

"I sense a disturbance in Hell; I think an angel just entered our realm." He said in a flurry and Diablo had to slow down his words in his head to catch on; when he did he was immediately in the same state as Baal; neither of them liked angels but both of them liked killing them.

"Let's go." He yelled as he didn't even take the stairs, walking to the window and jumping down towards the ground; when he hit the ground he started to run into the plains in search of the angel, if they pinpointed the location where the angel was they could use it to help locate the portal.

Baal followed suit as he jumped from the window, running in a different direction than Diablo; Diablo would alert him if he found the angel; he just hoped it wasn't Tyrael because then he wouldn't have a brother anymore.

x.X.x

Sakai kept weeping as she felt her body rack with hunger, anger and sadness; she felt completely alone in her despair; she had always preferred to be alone, but right now she would've given anything for a shoulder to cry on; someone to understand what she was going through and give her advice; someone to talk to.

But no such person was around, she was stuck in a closet and if she left the confines of the castle she would die by the hand of the first thing that saw her.

"Please let this day pass quickly." She muttered, she wished she was demonic again, it would be so much easier to deal with right now; the hunger pains would be away and she could go and wander around without fear of being killed.

She was right; being turned into a human on a full moon was a curse and not a blessing; she resented it!

x.X.x

Baal had scourged until the end of Hell, which was surrounded by mountains and still couldn't find an Angel and he had gotten no feedback from Diablo; what else could it be? A human perhaps? He speculated on that point and remembered Sakai's odd reaction to something.

"Did she have something to do with this? He felt his anger surge at the thought that Sakai would invite a human into the castle; why would she do something like that? It wasn't an angel or they would've found it, so whatever it was it was inside the castle.

Baal growled as he started to run towards the castle; he would either kill the human or find Sakai and make her suffer for it; this was unacceptable!


	21. Chapter 21

**(17th June, 21:00, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty One – Sakai is Missing**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Baal reached the castle and saw as all the demons dispersed at his presence, running away in various directions to avoid his obvious wrath. He saw Diablo standing by the castle door, arms crossed and looking rather angry; probably realizing the same thing as what Baal was.

Baal walked up to his brother, stopping a few inches from him. "I think there's a mortal in the castle." He muttered angrily and Diablo scoffed in annoyance.

"You think?" Diablo hissed as he walked into the castle, followed by a very annoyed Baal; he didn't like the idea of a mortal being in Hell anymore than Diablo did and both of them were thinking the same thing; Sakai caused it.

x.X.x

Baal had reached his room upstairs and was both disappointed and angry that Sakai wasn't in it; he didn't like the idea of her being the cause of this and he didn't like the idea of her roaming the castle to start with; but he had promised her favor points for releasing Diablo and that entailed her to live in the castle.

With a growl he started to go to the third floor, perhaps she was up there, doing something innocent, or so he hoped.

x.X.x

Sakai was still in the cleaning closet, she had stopped crying and was just wishing that she could turn back to a demon; she felt nervous and on edge the whole time while like this; afraid she was going to be discovered.

Just as she was thinking this she heard footsteps outside of the door; light human footsteps and immediately she knew it was Diablo.

She quickly got up and hid next to the door frame. 'Please don't let him come in here.' She cried out in her thoughts; this day would never end.

x.X.x

Diablo was outside the storage room and he were picking up the scent of a human mingled with the human-like scent of Sakai. "Peas in a pod." He muttered as he reached for the doorknob and noticed the dust that had accumulated over the years had been wiped off by someone's hand and immediately he knew the person they were looking for was in here.

x.X.x

Baal growled in frustration and just then he got the telepathic message from Diablo had he found them or the mortal at least; that he was sure of it.

Immediately he started running down the stairs towards the cleaning closet where Diablo said they were hiding; this would be interesting and he was disappointment because Diablo said he had smelled Sakai near the room as well and he was sure she had no intention of cleaning the castle; what else would she be doing there?

x.X.x

Diablo put his hand on the doorknob once he was sure Baal was on the way; he wasn't sure whether he would've been able to resist killing the human before Baal arrived and he was sure he had a lot of questions for the human.

He turned the doorknob and opened the door in one swift moment; what he didn't expect to see was a blur of raven hair shoot pass him and a shoving feel as he was pushed into the room and the door shut and locked behind him in less than a second.

Diablo stared at the locked door and the scent of her human presence was overwhelming in the room; his eyes darkened to maroon as he felt his anger rise and with it his size started to increase; his skin flaking off to reveal red scales underneath.

x.X.x

Sakai shoved Diablo inside and quickly locked the door; immediately she started to run towards the deepest recesses of the castle; she had no hope if she went outside with all the demons prowling the castle grounds.

x.X.x

Baal reached the area where the cleaning room was and saw the walls on them crack. "Diablo! NO!" Baal yelled as he ran towards the room; only to be smacked in the face with debris as the room exploded under the sheer size of Diablo; his towering bulk shining crimson through the settling dust as he stepped through it; a roar escaping his mouth that made the ceiling shake; causing more dust to fall to the ground.

Baal pulled the debris off from him as he jumped to his feet, running to in front of Baal. "We had to use that human to get answers! What did you do you fool!" Baal screamed at Diablo; under the impression that Diablo had killed the mortal within the room; he couldn't see any other reason why Diablo would transform.

Diablo roared again and Baal got angrier and angrier at his brothers behavior! He couldn't even see the mortal under all the debris from the broken down walls; but he could smell human scent lingering around the area.

"Answer me!" Baal screamed and Diablo stared down at him, he took in a few deep breathes to calm himself and slowly he started to decrease in size; returning to his human visage.

Baal waited patiently as his brother returned to 'normal', being naked again. What was the point in getting clothes for him if he kept on destroying it by transforming over petty reasons?

"Answer me." Baal repeated as he had calmed himself down a bit as well; though his anger was still dangerously close to bubbling over.

Diablo didn't turn around to hide his nudity; it was obvious he was too angry to even acknowledge it. "It is a mortal, a female." Diablo said, some of his skin starting to flake off again as he was itching to transform and rip the castle apart in search of her.

"You probably mean 'was', god forbid if we can even recognize her after all the debris that fell on her! How can you be so irresponsible as to kill her Diablo?" Baal asked, his own anger rising. "And calm yourself!" He snapped now as he saw red appear on Diablo's skin again.

Diablo kept on taking deep breathes. "I didn't kill her." He forced himself to say with a smile. "She…" He continued to take deep breathes but nothing helped as he was slowly transforming again; his size increasing and more skin flaking off.

"She what?" Baal pushed, not understanding why he would go ballistic if he didn't kill her and where was she if she wasn't in the room? If he knew she was female he must've seen her, where was she then? "Diablo! CALM YOURSELF!"Baal screamed, taking out his anger on his brother.

Diablo kept silent for a few minutes as he just kept on taking deep breathes; he knew he had to go after the girl again but if he found her now he wouldn't even consider waiting for answers he would murder her on the spot for the audacity she had to shove him into a room!

Diablo was back to normal size and calm enough to speak. "She… she shoved me into the room and locked it the instant I opened the door; she knew I was coming." He said and Baal's eyes went from anger to confusion and then just went completely blank as he considered that answer.

"She… shoved you into a room? You? Diablo? The Lord of Terror got shoved into a closet and locked in by a mortal _girl_?" He asked, but not mockingly, more in surprise as he couldn't imagine that happening; Diablo scoffed in annoyance as he gave a nod. "I don't believe it." He said in surprise and then started to laugh. "I really don't believe it!" He continued to laugh as he leaned against the wall.

Diablo looked away in shame; he would murder this girl even if it was the last thing he did; no one had the right to embarrass him like this; no one, especially not a mortal. "Let's just go find her." Diablo muttered and Baal was still laughing when he nodded.

"Yes, let's do that, but why don't you firstly go and find yourself some clothing?" Baal suggested and Diablo nodded in annoyance as he started to walk towards the stairs.

Baal smirked as he started to walk to the doors leading out of the castle; there was only one way into the castle and only one way out; he would put it under lockdown. So unless the mortal jumped from the windows; which would kill her; she was stuck in the castle and they would find her.

x.X.x

Sakai was in the lowest level of the castle; it looked like a dungeon and reeked like one as well, though she would have to be very observant if she planned to hide; they would come looking for her again and she had to be prepared.

She was pretty damn sure Diablo was on a warpath right now and she was the target of this; she had to make sure they didn't find her but the bloody problem was her scent! She was a human and they _smelled _her.

How would she manage to hide if they could sniff her out?

x.X.x

It was an hour later and both Baal and Diablo were outside, placing the demons in front of the castle strategically so that she wouldn't be able to slip passed them.

Once Baal was satisfied with the layout he yelled towards the other demons. "The rest of you keep a lookout for the girl that lives in the castle and the human hiding in it. Neither may be harmed and must be brought to me immediately!" He yelled as he started to walk into the castle; Diablo following him silently.

He had found a few capes in his room and was pleased; at least if he got angry again he would have a replacement for the one he was wearing now and he was pretty damn sure he would get angry if he had to walk into either Sakai or the human in the next century.

x.X.x

Once they were inside the castle Baal turned to Diablo. "She won't be able to leave the castle so I'm not going to worry about it right now; I need to rest, I'll look for her in the morning; I want you to do the same until you've calmed down." Baal said as he started to walk towards the stairs.

"You're kidding me!" Diablo spat out as he ran towards his brother in shock. "You're just going to let her 'roam' the castle while we 'sleep'?" He asked in disbelief and Baal nodded.

"Yes, she cannot leave and she cannot harm either of us, I don't have the energy to go treasure hunting now; besides, I want to locate Sakai first and find out from her what she has done." He said as he started to walk up the stairs; followed by an aggravated Diablo.

"As you wish brother." He hissed as he followed him angrily; he didn't like waiting but Baal was right, he needed to calm down before he went to look for the mortal, he had to at least have a fraction of restraint when he saw her.

"Goodnight then brother." Baal said as he took the turnoff in the stairs towards his room, Diablo scoffed and continued towards his own; he didn't like this one bit.

Especially sleeping with a human in the castle, even if she could do nothing to them. Though he knew it had more to do with his pride than his anger at humans; she had _shoved _him into the room and he was just going to let her be in peace for hours still? He wanted to find her and torture her for information; he _didn't _want to ask Sakai first because if she had a rational explanation he would be able to do _nothing _and that made him angrier than anything.

"Bloody humans." He muttered as he reached his room and slammed the door shut; he had the feeling he wouldn't be able to sleep a wink.


	22. Chapter 22

**(18th June, 05:12, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Two – Time to Escape**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai was still leaning against the wall, completely rigid with panic; why hadn't they come to look for her yet? She hadn't even heard footsteps on the stairs to indicate they were trying; surely they must've known she couldn't leave the castle.

Were they just waiting for her to come out and then they would trap her?

"No way in Hell will that happen." She muttered to herself as she tried to guess the time, it was probably around five in the morning now; which meant she would be transforming any second now and she prayed that second was close.

She needed to find a window to see the sky; to see whether their 'sun' was rising yet; she didn't even know what it was that caused light in this place but she needed to see whether it was approaching.

She took a deep breath and started to slowly and softly walk towards the stairs leading up.

x.X.x

Baal opened his eyes and looked around and then sat up slowly; getting off the bed with the same action. He looked towards his door and saw it was open; did he forget it open or had Sakai been in the room?

He sniffed the air, but didn't any trace of her. Perhaps he forgot it open.

He stretched out a bit and walked towards the door; time to wake up his brother to commence the search and then get him to clean the dust in his room that he had so conveniently caused and then clean the debris of the cleaning room.

You fix what you break or damage and Diablo would learn that soon enough as he didn't have the power to refuse.

x.X.x

Sakai reached the first floor and was relieved that she didn't see anyone she needed to deal with; she wouldn't have been able to deal with them anyway, or talk her way out of it, not in this form; not as a human.

She knew this floor had no windows, except high up where she couldn't reach or see and she couldn't risk leaving the castle in fear of running into a demon.

That only left one option: she would have to go to the second floor and see from there; it scared her because her companion's room was on the second floor and Baal's was just above that. What chance did she have of avoiding them, regardless of how early it was?

x.X.x

Baal was in Diablo's room now and walked towards his sleeping brother, it was obvious he went to rest later than Baal did, judging by the deep sleep he was in.

"Diablo." Baal spoke sternly as he walked closer to him, but his brother still didn't budge; what time did he go to sleep? "Diablo!" Baal hissed impatiently as he grabbed his brother by the shoulder and yanked him off the bed in one shift movement.

Diablo shot up the instant he hit the ground and almost punched Baal before he realized who he was. "Is it time?" He asked the second he regained control of his mind; he wanted to find the human more than he wanted to hit his brother; nothing was more important at the moment.

"Yes." Baal said as he started to head for the stairs again.

x.X.x

Sakai was on the second floor; she had been careful in going up, the instant she thought she had heard something she had ran back down but soon she realized she was just being paranoid and she could've been finished with it already.

She walked towards a room away from that of her companion's and entered it; seeing as it was deserted she immediately ran towards the window to view the sky; hoping it would be close to sunrise already.

When she got to the windows she stared outside and a sense of relief flooded her; she could see the pinkish glint of light in the sky; it was almost time; but now the most important thing needed to be considered. How would she cover up this whole mess? She knew they probably looked for her in the castle and she couldn't use the dungeon as an excuse since they probably knew the 'mortal' ran down there.

She was almost positive Baal had been looking for her with the whole human thing; what would she say to cover it up? And more importantly than all of that, what would Diablo say to her, since the girl he saw had shoved him into a cleaning closet, there was no way he would like her anymore after that; they probably thought it was her.

Suddenly she heard voices, she didn't recognize either but once she heard the word 'Diablo' she immediately knew it was Diablo and Baal and it sounded like they were going to search for her and the human now.

So they thought she was involved with the mortal? They had no idea how right they were; the only problem now was that they would be in the castle grounds or downstairs. She would need to find another way to appear inconspicuous to them; for that she needed to come from outside the castle.

She stared out of the window and saw not one demon was down there. "I can't believe I'm going to do this." She whispered as she climbed onto the ledge. "Oh my G_od_." She said as she looked how far down it was.

Slowly she started to descend.


	23. Chapter 23

**(18th June, 05:33, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Three – Explanations Required**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Diablo and Baal was just about to continue down the stairs when Diablo shot his head into the air. "I smell it, I smell her." He said and Baal inhaled deeply through his nose, his eyes sparking gold with the scent he picked up.

"Yes." He said as they changed their direction to continue following the scent, which was leading into a room at the start of the second floors stairs.

x.X.x

Sakai took a few deep breathes as she continued to slip down the castle wall, not daring to look down as she grabbed onto whatever she could find to keep her clinging to the wall, she just prayed that a demon didn't want passed the side of the castle because he would be greeted by the image of her clinging to the wall.

"Don't let anyone see me, please." She muttered softly as she continued descending down the castle wall; going a bit faster as the idea of someone spotting her being more disturbing than anything.

x.X.x

Diablo and Baal barged into the room her scent led them and immediately the enclosed space greeted them with the scent of a human. "She was in here." Baal said, stating the obvious as he could see his brother boil over in anger; he didn't like knowing he missed her by a hairs length.

"I think Sakai is behind this, why would a human dare move around in the castle like this without help?" Diablo snapped and Baal was about to argue when he remembered his open door; he honestly wasn't sure whether he had left it open or not; but it was possible that Sakai had come to check whether he was asleep before sneaking the mortal upstairs.

But why didn't he smell her? "I don't Diablo; I don't think Sakai is in the castle." He said and Diablo hissed at his brother.

"You're just protecting your pet!" He spat out and Baal had Diablo by his throat in a second, glaring at him with a vicious glint in his eyes.

"I thought I had clarified my reasons with you, accuse me of emotions towards a mortal again and you will regret it brother." He snapped as he tossed Diablo down on the ground, who gave a cough as he held his throat.

"Your aggression towards me is unnatural when I mention her, which is why I'm accusing you brother." Diablo said as he got up. "You will find out the truth soon enough, both of us will; let us commence the search for the human instead of quarreling." He offered as he gestured to the exit of the room; it was obvious to both of them the mortal wasn't in the room anymore.

"Very well." Baal said as he exited the room after giving it a quick scan to make sure she wasn't hiding somewhere behind the furniture. "Let us go." He said as he entered the hallway, followed by Diablo; his neck turning a pinkish tint from the hold Baal had on him.

x.X.x

Sakai felt her feet touch the ground and a massive amount of relief flooded her as she started to set off into the desert of lava known only as Hell; she would need to approach the front of the castle from afar; she couldn't allow them to find her this close to the castle; she was sure there was a demon or two guarding the front so they would notice her.

She would make up any story she could possibly find to save her own behind from the wrath of Baal, Diablo and her Companion if he even knew.

x.X.x

Diablo and Baal had followed the scent to the dungeons but was disappointment to discover she wasn't there either. "I think we're getting old brother." Baal mocked as continued to shovel through the crates in the dungeon incase she was hiding in one of them.

"No, you're wrong brother; _this _is getting old, having to shuffle around trying to find a mortal like two idiots; if we had pursued her last night like I had suggested this would never have happened; we would've found her. You can blame yourself for this game of cat and mouse." Diablo said angrily as he kicked a crate against the wall; a flurry of fur running from it. "Why are there always rats?" He hissed out as he gave the crate another solid kick, watching as the last of them ran for safety.

Baal ignored him as he made for the stairs again; she wasn't here. Though he knew Diablo was right; it was his fault they were having such trouble finding the girl, if only he had actually listened to his brother they would've had her already.

But something in him had insisted that he wait for an answer from Sakai, he didn't know why but Diablo was also right about him treating her like a pet; or something similar. For God sakes, he was allowing her to sleep in his bed. _His _bed; she didn't know it but he was Baal; the Lord of Destruction. The demon who hated mortals more than Hate itself and here he was letting a mortal reside within his courtiers willingly.

x.X.x

Sakai was about half a mile from the castle when she felt the transformation occur and immediately she looked down at herself, trying to savor the glory of being mortal for one day; despite the inconvenient place it occurred.

She saw as her human skin flaked off and turned green again and for the first time she noticed her clothing differed from that of her demon ones; she was wearing the clothes she had transformed in the first time, not those she changed into after showering for the first time as a demon.

She watched as the clothing fell from her body and was replaced with her tattered demonic ones and her fingers got longer as the nails sprouted from their green tips until they were that of a reptile again.

With despair she saw as her hair fell to the ground and felt as her incisor teeth elongate to canines; there transformation was almost complete.

x.X.x

Baal was annoyed and Diablo was tearing through the castle like a bloodhound, the smallest fragrance of human he picked up he set after but he never found anything; every trail was a dead end and Baal was starting to wonder where the Hell the human was; how could she just disappear without a trace.

He started to head to the entrance of the castle; to see if there was any report on the girl or Sakai.

x.X.x

Sakai was done transforming and looked down at the ground; lying in a bundle was her other clothing and hair and suddenly it hit her; she had an excuse.

With a new confidence in her survival she started to walk to the entrance of the castle; there was no reason to worry; she had an excuse.

x.X.x

Baal was outside and had learned that they hadn't spotted either of them; making him more annoyed by the second.

"Idiots; can't even locate one measly mortal." He hissed out as he looked towards the side of the castle and that is when he saw her; Sakai. She was walking towards the castle as if she knew of nothing; was it possible? Could she truly know nothing; she was walking towards the demons as if she didn't know they were guarding the place or looking for her.

He saw the demons look at him for an order; he lifted his hand for them to stand their ground as he walked towards Sakai and motioned for her to stop; why was she relaxed? How could she not be involved with everything that had happened! She was missing the whole time!

When he reached her he gestured away from the demons. "Follow me." He said as he started to walk into the open plains of Hell.


	24. Chapter 24

**(18th June, 05:50, Waning Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Four – Unexpected Discovery**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

About a hundred meters from the demons Baal stopped and turned to Sakai, she stopped in turn and looked at him; he examined her features and it truly seemed she knew of nothing. "Where have you been?" He asked her; that was the most important question to get out of the way.

"Out towards the rivers side, I fell asleep there." She lied, she had seen a river of lava when she had walked that far before she transformed. "I saw something that might interest you." She continued and Baal stared at her for a long while before speaking.

"There is a mortal in the castle; you're a suspect in this." He said and immediately he saw her face turn to surprise, was this all just an act or could he believe her that she had actually fallen asleep at the river of lava?

"I daresay she isn't in the castle anymore." Sakai said and Baal felt his body ripple with shock, she knew about the human! So Diablo was right! To think he had hoped she didn't, to think he had felt relief at her innocent demeanor! It was all an act!

He felt his anger boil over and his eyes turn a dark gold color again, humans, they were all deceitful! How could she act so innocent when she knew of the human and apparently the whereabouts of the mortal as well!

"What do you mean, where is she?" He hissed out angrily; he would kill the mortal and deal with Sakai accordingly, he didn't know what yet though.

Sakai looked towards the direction of the river and pointed. "I found her remains over there." She said and now it was Baal's turn to be shocked.

"Excuse me?" He asked and Sakai sighed.

"When I came back from the river I stumbled upon human hair and clothing; that's what I wanted to show you. I'm assuming it's the one that you're talking about?" She enquired and Baal took hold of her arm.

"Show me." He said and she gave a nod as she started to walk in the direction where she had transformed, she just hoped it worked; so far it seemed that he did.

x.X.x

Baal and Sakai reached the area that she remembered transforming and the instant they were close enough for him to see the hair and clothing he ran towards it. Stopping in front of the remains and picking up a shirt; he pressed it to his nose and smelled it.

"It is her." He said as he looked towards the castle. "So she was killed." He said as he dropped the shirt to the ground and turned towards Sakai. "Did you see any demons close to her remains?" He asked and Sakai shook her head.

"No, I only saw the clothing from a distance, when I came to investigate I found this." She said and Baal growled as he started to walk towards the castle again; Sakai following him silently.

"It's peculiar that there is no blood though; I realize food hasn't exactly been abundant in Hell lately but there is usually a scrap of flesh left." He said and Sakai shivered at the possibility of actually being eaten. "I am rather upset though that they did this, I did inform all the demons to return her to me upon finding her." He said and Sakai could only nod as she continued to follow him.

x.X.x

Once they were in front of the castle Baal turned to her. "I need to have a word with someone, you will go to my room and stay there until I instruct otherwise." He said and Sakai didn't like being held prisoner within a room, but she needed to rest in any case; she was tired as Hell.

"Okay." She said as she headed for the stairs; what was the point in denying him anyway? She knew he only got angry if she did and then he might drag her to either Baal or Diablo; she didn't want to think about either. Especially Diablo, she could only imagine in what state of rage he was since the cleaning cabinet event.

Once she was out of sight Baal turned to the demons. "The remains of the human have been found; unfortunately I do not know which one of you idiotic traitors found her so delightful as to only leave clothing and hair." His eyes darkened once more. "Though I can assure you the day I found out death will not even be punishment enough." His eyes turned normal. "On a brighter note, you are no longer required to guard the castle, begone." He hissed and the demons happily dispersed.

Baal turned towards the castle, he needed to find Diablo to call off the hunt as well; Diablo would not be happy that he did not get his revenge.

x.X.x

Diablo was in the dungeons again, tearing the crates asunder with his rage. "Where are you!" He yelled into the empty confines of the dungeon; where the Hell was the human that did this to him! He heard footsteps by the stairs and immediately swung in that direction; disappointment took hold of him as he saw Baal descend from them.

"Oh, it's only you." He said angrily as he stared at his brother. "Any news?" He asked in mild irritation until Baal nodded.

"Yes, the human is dead and Sakai has been found." He said and Diablo exploded in a flurry of clothing and human skin; a red bulk appearing almost instantly with his rage. Baal said nothing at the transformation, though he was impressed with how quick it had occurred.

"What!" Diablo roared until the walls shook, his massive shoulders heaving with each attempt to breathe; he felt like his lungs were constricted as he took the information in. The girl was dead? The girl he wanted to find so badly and kill was dead? It couldn't be! He hadn't even seen exactly what she looked like! He hadn't seen any fear on her face!

"Yes, her remains were found; it seems some of the demons disobeyed us and had a snack." He said and Diablo roared once more, Baal still said nothing; it was obvious Diablo was even angrier than when she had locked him in the closet.

Diablo continued to roar; he should've been pleased, being eaten was a horrible death and usually occurred while the victim was still alive so why was he so angry? Because he wasn't the one to kill her? No, it wasn't that either because he felt no pleasure at her death. He wanted to be able to see her and hold her captive; get information out of her and prolong her suffering until the end of time.

He roared once more as he realized the thing he had wanted most out of this was to look the woman in the eyes who had dared shove him into a closet and all he could recall was black hair. He wanted to see what had caused such bravery and destroy it.

"I'll leave you to vent." Baal said as he turned to leave, he would go check up on Sakai.

x.X.x

Sakai was in the room; debating whether she should sleep or wait for news from her companion, if she slept now and they decided to kill her she wouldn't be able to fight back; she would be a sitting duck.

Would they kill her though? Baal hadn't looked suspicious of her in any way, he had looked like he believed her and that was all that counted, he probably wouldn't consider that she was the mortal, not after the hair and clothing being found.

"Hello." She heard from the doorway and her head shot up immediately and she stood up from the bed where she had been sitting. Her companion was standing there, arms crossed and examining her from a distance; what was he trying to figure out?

She gave a nod instead of replying and Baal entered the room, walking to in front of her. "I thought you might've been asleep, I can't imagine you enjoyed seeing the remains of your own kind." He said and she gave a nod.

"There wasn't any blood or remains so I could stomach the idea." She said and Baal nodded as he went to sit on the bed as Sakai remained standing, too uneasy to follow suit.

"I know you do this in general, but try to avoid Diablo; he is quite upset about the death of the mortal and will, most likely, take it out on you." He said and Sakai gasped in surprise.

"Upset? Why? I would've thought he'd be thrilled." She said and Baal smirked as he nodded, leaning his back against the frame of the bed.

"He would've been if it was he who did it; she had embarrassed him in a way I don't think I should mention." Baal said as he sat upright again and now Sakai had the guts to sit down on the bed as well, though about a meter from where he sat.

"I see, I'll avoid Diablo." She said and now Baal got up and started to walk towards the door, before turning to her one last time.

"Good, though I would prefer if you remained in this room at all times; I will also be gone for a while on 'business' so the castle won't exactly be safe with the demons invading it again." He said and she gave a nod. "I'll probably see you one last time before I go." He said and then left.

Sakai sighed; great, so she was to be left alone in the castle with a bunch of demons, somehow that idea wasn't thrilling in the least.

x.X.x

Diablo had cooled down enough to have returned to his human form and had gone up to his room to get another cape; he would deal with it on his own time but he couldn't afford to get angry every five seconds because of a mortal that was dead and a demon that was a mortal sitting in Baal's room gloating about not being apprehended for her time missing that was very suspicious.

Baal had told him they were going to leave to find the portal on the outside world instead of in Hell as it was obviously nowhere they could see or find but it did exist.

x.X.x

It was about an hour later and Sakai saw as the door opened again and her companion stepped inside, for the first time in a few days did she get a good look at his once skeleton like face and was amazed; the white patches of flesh had now been covered with human skin or so it seemed; and there were more patches growing on his face. The hump on his back was barely visible and he looked more muscular or bigger; he didn't look like a skeleton anymore.

"We're leaving." He said and she gave a nod towards him as she stood up in greeting and farewell. "We'll probably be back in a few weeks." He finished and she gave another nod, that was a long time to be gone.

"Alright." She said as she lifted her hand to wave, but Baal cut her short by speaking again.

"I have arranged with Mephisto that you are permitted to leave Hell and find food to your liking once a week, I'm no longer holding you captive, if you wish to leave it's your choice; though if you do not return with 24 hours of leaving the portal you will never be able to return and Mephisto will kill you if you try." He said and she nodded.

"Thank you." She said and she lifted her hand and gave a wave now; Baal nodded as he exited the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Sakai to her own devices.

So he was allowing her to leave once a week, in hope she didn't escape? That was perfect; she could finally escape this Hell and find another place to live where she did not need to fear transformation. Though it would ruin her chances of becoming normal, she had a feeling she was growing attached to her companion and he must've also if he was letting her go, so what would she do with her newfound freedom?

"Oh my god!" She suddenly yelled as it struck her! She transforms once every second week! She could do it on the outside, go to a town, eat normal food and buy raw meat for her stay in Hell; well, probably steal it due to her lack of finances.

This would solve everything; she wouldn't need to conjure up excuses anymore!


	25. Chapter 25

**(8th July, 13:20, New Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Five – Three Weeks Later**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

******x.X.x**  


Three weeks had passed and Sakai was still alive and relatively happy to be so; she had only transformed once more since her last one and she had spent the day in the town called Kurast close to the portal; they had actually welcomed her into the town, telling her it was dangerous to travel so close to demonic activity.

When it came to having to eat she had resorted to raw meat, there was no way she could muster up the courage to consume a human or demon; she would probably puke just by looking at the remains or coming so close to the idea of it.

She had been relatively relieved that the demons decided to remain outside of the castle; she had the entire place to herself and had even gone so far as to peek into Baal's room; though she was disappointed to find it devoid of anything fancy; it actually looked less impressive than that of her companions.

At the moment she was sitting in his room, luckily dust free now as she had cleaned the place of it; it was starting to annoy her and she hated it when anything annoyed her; especially dirt; though it was quite a mission to retrieve the brooms from the debris of the cleaning cabinet she had shoved Diablo into. Though she had managed and the place looked livable.

She gave a sigh as she lay back down on the bed; maybe she would take a nap, it was still early enough that she would be able to sleep into the night.

x.X.x

Baal stepped through the portal, followed by Diablo. Both of them bore a smirk that only spoke of accomplishment and it was true; after three weeks of searching each active gateway to Hell they found one that was unguarded as the guardian had been slain by the angels.

After that it was as simple as closing off the gateway and increasing the security at the others; if anything else were to go wrong at any of the remaining gateways they would be informed immediately by a sort of spiritual bond they established with the guardians.

Baal stared at his castle and he felt relieved that he could finally take things easy again, or as easy as the King of Hell was allowed to in any case. There was one thing that piqued his interest though; it was whether Sakai was still in Hell or whether she had run away from the place she believed was enslaving her.

x.X.x

Sakai felt a hand on her shoulder and tried to shrug it off, only to feel it place itself back on her shoulder, she grunted and pushed it off with her hand. "Go away." She muttered and then suddenly it occurred to her: Someone was _touching _her while she was _supposed _to be **alone **in the castle.

With a jolt she sat upright and found herself staring at a human man other than Diablo; her first instinct was to run but before she knew what she was doing she had given him a solid punch in the face that made him topple off the bed and hit the ground with a loud thud.

Sakai jumped up immediately and towered over the fallen man in aggression. "Who are you! What are you doing here!" She demanded and she only now started to back away as the man started to rise up from the ground; a dark laugh escaping his lips as he looked at her.

His features were strong and he was completely bald; like Diablo. He wore a cape and was built almost like Diablo as well; was he another Demon, perhaps a sibling of Diablo; or was he just a human with a death wish? How had he managed to slip passed all the demons outside if he was a human?

"Answer me! Who are you?" She yelled again as her entire posture screamed aggression; she was ready to attack him if he tried anything and this seemed to make him laugh even harder.

"Don't you recognize me?" He asked and she kept her eyes trained on him as she huffed.

"I don't particularly enjoy associating myself with humans; I doubt I'll remember a lunatic like you in any case; drop the mind games and tell me your name or I will escort you out of this castle in a less than gentle way." She threatened as she kept her aggressive stance towards him.

"My name does not concern you." He said and Sakai growled at him and then her eyes suddenly went wide and she dropped her arms, her entire aggressive posture vanishing in a second as she stared at him, examining him for about a minute.

"Is that really you?" She questioned as she squinted her eyes and widened them again, trying anything and everything to find a resemblance and even if she couldn't place it she could detect it. If it wasn't his attitude it must be his posture and humor.

Baal smirked as he straightened himself out. "Yes, glad to see you decided to stay." He looked around the room. "Thanks for cleaning the mess in the room." He said as he walked towards his throne and sat down in it.

Sakai was speechless and entranced at the same time as she examined him, last time she saw him he was a hideous demonic entity; now he was a semi attractive man that looked like a human; almost like Diablo did except for the yellow eyes; Diablo had blood red eyes.

"How?" She finally managed to utter and Baal gave her a look that indicated she was a complete idiot to ask such a question.

"You didn't think that was flowers growing on my face did you?" He asked and she immediately recalled the flesh growing on his face that had taken on a human tint when she last saw him; so that was what it was? Human flesh growing over his skeleton face; she peeked behind him to see his back and saw the bulge was completely gone.

To think she had been revolted by his appearance when she first met him, looking at him now she could barely believe they were the same demons.

"Cute little aggression act just now by the way; I can't remember the last time I laughed like that." He said with a snicker and she crossed her arms at his insult.

"It wasn't an act, I was actually quite serious." She muttered, but regardless of how strong she tried to make her voice sound she was still intrigued by his change; she hadn't even been this interested when she saw Diablo transform. "Where's Diablo and Baal?" She asked as she looked around now; she knew they left together with Baal, though she hadn't seen him or Baal yet; or heard either of them.

Baal laughed; if only she knew. "They're around here somewhere; waiting to pounce you." He said with a laugh and another laugh escaped his mouth as he saw her shocked expression. "I am just pulling your leg Sakai; Diablo has better things to do than amuse himself by stalking you." He said and she gave a sigh of relief. "Why are you so worried that he will come after you?" He enquired and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe the whole 'I'm a human' thing makes me a prime target." She said and Baal snickered as he stood up, walking towards the bed now.

"He won't touch you while you're under my care." He said and Sakai huffed as she scoffed her feet; what bloody rubbish was that?

"Why? You're just a demon; he's the bloody brother of Baal." She said and Baal laughed again; he knew he didn't want her to discover who he was but it would be hilarious when she did.

"Your favor points, remember?" He reminded her with a lie and she seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding. "You're pretty much immune until you piss off the big boss." He said with a laugh.

"Alright, I like that. So… may I ask how your whole mission thing went?" She asked and Baal went to lie down on the bed.

"No." Was his short answer as he closed his eyes and continued to smirk, leaving Sakai surprised and slightly frustrated; yes, this was definitely her companion.

She huffed and went to stand by the window, examining the landscape below as she had done many times prior.

x.X.x

Diablo was up in his room and he was annoyed as Hell once more despite their victory over the Angels; the bloody mortal was still stuck on his mind; he could've sworn to God he smelled her when they had passed Kurast. Baal of course had insisted he is obsessed and dragged him by away from Kurast by his tail as he had transformed the instant he had caught her scent. Though he _knew _it was her, she had brushed against him, she had touched him! Of course he knew what she smelled like!

He hissed as he felt himself transform again. He would find her if she was still alive, if she had cut off all her hair and tossed her clothing aside to make them think she was dead it would've been futile. He would find her bald ass and drag her back to Hell to make her suffer.

Yes, maybe he was obsessed but he had never before been treated like that by a human, let alone a female, they usually cowered in his presence and begged for mercy. "Bloody wrench! Deceiving witch!" He yelled as he increased in size, his red scales appearing under his skin like blisters.

"I'll find you!" He roared as he continued to transform.

x.X.x

Sakai was in the room when she heard the devastating roar from above that she could only make out as '"I'll find you!' and recognized it as Diablo almost immediately; was he and Baal having an argument again? She hadn't heard any yelling from above.

She looked at her companion and watched as he cracked open one eye and gave a frustrated huff as he sat up. "What is wrong with him?" Sakai asked and Baal looked towards her as he got up, pulling his cape correct.

"He's obsessed with the human that got away, he swears she is still alive and he is just having another temper tantrum." Baal said as he walked towards the room. "Stay here." He instructed as he left the room, leaving Sakai confused.

Was he going to go and try to sort it out or go and get Baal since she hadn't heard him from upstairs? As she was still pondering this she saw dust fall from the ceiling again as he was starting to stomp it again. Immediately she ran to the window to try and escape the ray of dust and get fresh air into her lungs.

She took in a deep gulp and felt it stick in her throat as she watched the red bulk of Diablo shooting passed her towards the ground again; roaring frantically and cussing like mad. She looked up to try and see Baal but was only greeted by the trial of his cape; nothing she could identify him by.

She grunted; when would she see what he looked like? She was curious and frustrated, he was the most powerful demon in the entire world and he kept to himself? Running the place like background noise and never seen by anyone but her companion and Diablo as far as she knew.

Soon the door opened again and her companion stepped inside, he saw the look on her face as she was standing by the window. "Looks like I wasn't needed after all, Baal sorted it out." He lied as he returned to the bed and lay down.

Sakai popped her head out of the window again and watched as a very angry Diablo stood up and ran towards the castle entrance. "Oh my God, I think he's coming back up for more." She muttered and Baal cracked open his eyelid again.

"I doubt he'll be that stupid." Baal said to her, but he got up non-the-less, he didn't need Diablo running into his room trying to attack him and revealing who he was to Sakai. "I'll go…call Baal." He said as he left the room once more.

Sakai walked towards the bed and decided she would remain calm, it seemed like this Baal demon had no problem keeping Diablo in check so she could rest, even if it seemed her companion wanted the bed she was tired as well.

He would just have to learn to share.


	26. Chapter 26

**(8th July, 15:25, New Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Six – The Caring Nature of Hell**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

******x.X.x**  


Baal was annoyed as well; it had taken him over an hour to make Diablo calm down and return to his human form; he was ranting like a madman about the 'human that got away' and that she was still alive; how could she still be alive if they found her remains? It was technically impossible.

He entered the room and saw Sakai was asleep on his bed; did she always sleep this much? He walked up to her and looked at her face and started to ponder what she had looked like as a human. She had intriguing features as a demon that made her attractive among their kind but he was sure it was nothing compared to her original beauty.

Though what type of a person did she have to be if she was turned into a demon? She was not as cruel as their kind but she did have aggression and rudeness in her; perhaps she was just mean to the wrong person, which seemed to have been that witch; considering her circumstances she had adapted pretty well.

He snickered as he recalled her aggressiveness towards him; it had actually been so adorable that laughing wasn't a good enough reaction; though at least it meant she would stand her ground and didn't associate herself with humans as she had blatantly stated; or lunatics like him.

He snickered again and with a start he realized his annoyance had vanished while he was pondering her human life and aggressiveness; Diablo was right, she was like a pet to him. A sort of innocent amusement that helped him keep sane and at the moment he direly needed something to ground him to reality.

If her mere presence helped him erase some of his anger she was worth keeping around, she was no longer a liability but had turned into an asset instead; despite Diablo wanting to kill her whenever he saw her.

He placed his hand on her shoulder again and gave it a light shake; why would he even try to be gentle with her if he literally slapped his own sibling out of the bed? He pondered this for a few seconds before deciding it was because she was a girl; a fragile creature by nature.

"Wake up." He said and she shrugged his hand off from her like she had previously and moaned in her sleep for him to go away; he could barely manage his laughter; to think she was supposed to be evil, she didn't know the meaning of evil or cruelty.

Baal removed his hand from her shoulder and decided he would let her continue her rest; he needed to attend to some other tasks as well.

x.X.x

Diablo growled as he stepped through the portal of Hell into the Temple of Durance. "Brother?" He muttered as he looked around for Mephisto and after a few seconds he saw his brother come into view, a startled expression on his face.

"I didn't think you would be leaving the confines of Hell anytime soon again; is there a new development?" Mephisto asked and Diablo shook his head as he walked onto the marble floor of the temple.

"No, nor are you to speak of my travels outside of Hell, even to Baal." He said and Mephisto grunted as he wafted around his brother like a spiritual entity.

"Not speak to him? Why would I lie for you?" He asked and Diablo growled as he walked passed his brother, towards the exit.

"Because this is personal business I would prefer he is not informed about and even as my blood I will make you suffer severely if you betray my trust." Diablo threatened as he left the presence of his brother before he could say anything else.

He would go to Kurast and find **his** mortal.

x.X.x

Baal had searched the entire castle and couldn't find any trace of Diablo anymore; though it didn't bother him much, his brother was probably just venting somewhere outside, terrorizing any demon that was close enough to him at the time of his rage or most aggressive thought.

Of both his brother Diablo respected Mephisto the most but he loved Diablo the most; Mephisto was always the smartest one, but the weakest one. Diablo was the second strongest and unfortunately the most prone to stupid behavior while he was the strongest of all of them; which obviously had its advantages.

Though, despite the advantages, he still found himself entranced with small things, like Sakai for example, she had no reason to stay in Hell after he had given her the ticket to freedom; yet she remained, why would she remain if she barely had freedom, consistently had to worry for her life and was only allowed to leave once a week for food?

Did she enjoy it in Hell? She barely left the castle so how could she find anything beautiful about a place she wasn't raised in and warned against?

He shrugged to himself; it didn't matter either way, she decided to stay and he would ask her why when she was awake and capable of intelligent speech beyond 'go away'.

x.X.x

(Two Hours Later)

Diablo reached the citadel of Kurast and as he walked into the town the scent of the human girl wafted across his nostrils, he grunted as he kept his temper in control, he would not lose control in here; he could not transform until he found her or got information of her whereabouts.

He followed his nose and found her scent layered on several objects around the town, most recently seemed to be a inn but with the faint trail of her scent around the town he realized she hadn't been here for a couple of days.

Though a couple of days weren't a couple of weeks, which was her supposed 'time of death'. She was still alive; he was right.

With a growl he entered the inn and walked up to the keeper of the place, sitting cozily behind his front desk and when Diablo was close enough he averted his gaze from whatever he was reading and looked at Diablo. "Can I help you sir?" He asked in a sickeningly professional tone that made Diablo cringe; that man had no stature at all and here he was pretending he was by speaking like one?

"Yes, I'm looking for a woman that was here a few days ago, she is bald." He said and the innkeeper looked at him for a few seconds before shaking his head, returning his gaze to the book he was reading before answering Diablo.

"I don't recall any bald woman coming here anytime in the last decade." He said and Diablo growled, getting the keepers attention. "Don't you get aggressive with me sir." The man said sternly and Diablo felt his temper rise and he fought valiantly to suppress it back to normal.

"I'm not, how about a black headed woman?" He asked and this seemed to get the keepers attention as he gave a few nods before placing the book back down.

"Yes, yes, a very peculiar girl that." He said and Diablo felt like had won the jackpot in some gambling event, his excitement took over and his heart started to beat like he had run a marathon around the world; a smile spread across his face.

"Yes, that is her. Do you perhaps know where she is?" Diablo said and the innkeeper looked at him suspiciously and looked Diablo in the eyes and immediately lost a few shades of color as he saw the demonic eyes of Diablo staring back at him.

"Once every second week… she usually comes here on a full moon… only stays the night then she leaves… she's nice enough but quite cheeky." He blurted out in one go as he couldn't take his eyes away from that of Diablo's, immediately knowing that the man before him was a demon and there wasn't any help nearby to save him if he got aggressive.

"Thank you." He said as he left the inn almost immediately, leaving the town in the same breath as well, he didn't want to cause an uproar when the innkeeper called the guards. Though he had all he needed, in 4 days it would be a full moon then he would be here waiting for her if she came and she wouldn't be expecting it in the least.

x.X.x

Baal was up in the room with Sakai again and saw she was waking up, he waited patiently until she pulled herself upright in the bed and looked around confused; until her eyes came to lay on Baal.

"Hey." She muttered as she wiped her eyes and leaned against the bedrail; staring at Baal in silence now; he nodded as he went to sit down on his throne, twisting the concrete structure until it was facing the bed.

"Let's talk." He said and she looked at him confused as she gave a yawn.

"About what?" She enquired and he shrugged his shoulder.

"Just talk." He said and she continued to stare at him oddly but gave a nod in compliance; no idea why he would just want to 'talk'.


	27. Chapter 27

**(12th July, 18:11, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Seven – Diablo Discovers Her**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

******x.X.x**  


**(Four Days Later)**

Baal was alone in the castle as Sakai had gone out of Hell for the day to find food and she promised she would be back by morning after sunrise; it didn't bother him much that she went out because he was convinced she would return; and Diablo said he would he roaming the courtyard until night.

Actually, what was bothering him was Diablo's amazingly good mood, it was as if he had completely forgotten he was demon and turned into a rabbit or something, just happily strolling around their home doing absolutely nothing but smiling and eating.

They hadn't fought about anything, that had only spoken like brothers about problems, thought it seemed that Diablo's find was always on something else; if it wasn't that demons were immune to narcotics he would've sworn his brother was a drug addict due to his happy mood.

He had even greeted Sakai on one occasion that had left her paralyzed on the spot out of surprise of his behavior and when Baal had found out about the greeting he was just as amazed.

Sakai and himself was getting along pretty well lately, he had talked to her four days ago and every day since then about casual events about her life, even if he didn't divulge anything about himself that she didn't know; she had actually started treating him like a sort of 'friend' instead of a warden of some prison. He thought it might've been the fact that he looked more like her kind now, as his previous appearance had seemed to revolt her a bit.

The simple term that explained it all was that they had grown accustomed to each other and he liked it that way; something that was surprising to him though; it was her appearance. The more he looked at her the more human she started to seem to him.

Were her nails always so short? He remembered them being a tad longer and her skin such a light green? She couldn't recall exactly what she looked like when he met her but she seemed so much to him like a human these days.

And the worst part was that he didn't despise it, he actually welcomed it.

x.X.x

Diablo had reached the town and was cloaked in his cape with a hood across his head to hide his demonic eyes, he would wait a short distance from the inn and see if she showed up; so far her scent was not in the village but he was sure she would come, it was a full moon after all.

x.X.x

Sakai was about a mile from Kurast and patiently awaiting her transformation, it would happen any minute now and then she could go to the inn again; last time she had stolen some money and had paid in advance for her room this night so that she had a proper place to live and could eat proper food which she had craved so much the last two weeks.

Thought she didn't hate or fear Hell so much anymore, it seemed her companion was trying to make it comfortable for her because he had come to her at times and spoken to her like he was her friend and it had surprised her at first, but later on she started to welcome it.

What she was most pleased about was her appearance, she was starting to regain some human attributes, her nails were shorter and her fingers were no longer demonic like, they had returned to their human grace; her skin was also starting to pale; the most amazing part was that this meant she was starting to care and she knew it was for her companion; a demon who she had hated.

As she was still in thought she felt the transformation occur, she expected pain to hit her but found it was relatively painless as she was starting to become human in any case; her nails no longer needed to pull in so deeply and her teeth only retracted a short length before becoming normal again and her skin flaked off painlessly as her hair grew at the same time.

Her clothing changes as well to the shirt and pants she was wearing last time.

Once she was done transforming she gave a sigh of relief as she flicked her black hair over her shoulder, one night of normalness was more than welcome in her life, even if Hell wasn't hell for her anymore, more of a home.

x.X.x

Diablo was waiting by a tree about twenty meters from the entrance of the inn when it started to get dark. "Where is she?" He hissed impatiently as he looked towards the moon and saw it was full; did the inn keeper lie to him?

Diablo growled at the insolence as he was about to set off towards the inn to show the keeper exactly what a demon could do to his professional ass when he saw her. He froze on the spot as he watched the woman that had been haunting his days walk into the inn.

x.X.x

Baal suddenly heard a telekinetic message come through to him from someone, he expected to hear the voice of Diablo, but instead the voice of Mephisto penetrated his thought. "I'm done lying for our brother!" Mephisto hissed out and Baal was shocked.

"What do you mean?"

"He lied about where he went Baal, he said he's going out to kill some woman near or in Kurast." He said and Baal immediately froze.

Diablo seemed to have been over the mortal and the only girl that went out tonight was Sakai, did Diablo plot this? Did he plan this all week, was that why he was so happy? Did he plan to go and kill Sakai somewhere in the woods and then claim she probably ran away or disappeared?

"Open the portal! I'm on my way there!" Baal yelled as he started running towards the portal, if Diablo dared lay a finger upon Sakai without his permission there would be Hell! How could his brother do this! Plotting to kill his pet under his nose?

x.X.x

Diablo felt his heart racing as he wasn't sure what to do next; he was so close to her, what if she slipped out from under his nose again? He sniffed the air and immediately her scent assaulted his senses and he felt his body ripple as it begged to transform.

"Forget this subtleness." He hissed as he literally started to run towards the inn, she was so damn close and she would not get away again; not this time, she had eluded him for weeks but now he had her and she had no idea in how much danger she was.

This was _**his **_human.

x.X.x

Baal had gotten to the portal and was now bolting out of the temple; he hadn't even taken time to greet his brother and probably only appeared as a blur. God Kurast was still a few minutes away, but he could smell Sakai was going in that direction but instead he followed the trial Diablo left; hopefully he could find him before he found Sakai. He didn't want her to know Diablo was plotting to kill her.

God, he should've known that greeting was too much and taken it up as murderous intent smothered by sweetness.

x.X.x

Sakai was in her room and closed the door, not bothering to lock it as the only people who would come in would be her room service at eight and the cleaners in the morning.

"Finally…" She muttered as she collapsed down on the bed; she needed to take a shower later, she craved to feel the beauty of water soothing her skin instead of the unsatisfactory splatter of nothing but coldness.

She decided she would put aside her sleep and go shower now, the idea intrigued her more than sleep at the moment.

Just as she got up she heard frantic knocking on the door; she was confused for a moment, perhaps there was a problem with the inn or the innkeeper had a problem, he did seem a bit eccentric at times. "It's open!" She yelled and then suddenly the door open, hitting against the wall with a loud bang.

x.X.x

Baal was about a minute away from Kurast when he heard it; a devastating scream that sounded so much like Sakai that it made him cringe and his heart started to race. "I will kill you Diablo! I swear I will kill you!" He screamed as he continued to run, wishing his own legs could carry him faster.

x.X.x

Diablo was standing in front of the woman that had dared embarrass him like that. "Didn't think you'd see me again did you?" He hissed out as he felt his skin flaking off, he stared into her eyes and he was greeted with the fear he had craved to see for so long.

"What do you want from me!" She yelled towards him and a second later she saw the innkeeper run into the room, she was about to warn him to run when Diablo grabbed him by the neck and snapped it instantly, tossing the limp body on the floor. Sakai placed her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming again.

"What do I want from you? Are you daft?" Diablo asked with a manic laugh that made her skin crawl as she backed away from him, towards the window; he growled and was next to her in a second, gripping her arm tightly as he yanked her away from the window and pushed her away from him again while he positioned himself between the door and window; leaving her with nothing but concrete wall as an escape route.

"I did nothing but escape from you!" She yelled towards him and he growled furiously.

"You had the nerve to come into Hell in the first place, you had no right to try and escape!" He yelled as he took a step towards her, feeling as his skin started to flake off and his body mass increase tenfold. "You had no right to embarrass me like that!" He yelled as his clothing started to tear at the seam as it could no longer contain his growing bulk.

Sakai was about to say her last prayers when a very familiar face came running into the room; her companion! Why was he here? She felt panic suddenly, Diablo would rip both of them asunder and he didn't even know who she was!

x.X.x

Baal ran into the room and the first thing he saw was his brother losing control and then he turned towards the source of it and he felt himself freeze over and his heart stop. Staring at him was a mortal woman, the woman that was in the castle by the scent he picked up.

The woman he had imagined Sakai would look like if she was still a mortal by her vague description of herself in their conversations and with a heart that felt like it was ripped apart he realized the woman in front of him was Sakai.

Everything seemed to be going slowly, Diablo turned to him and growled angrily as he directed his attention from Sakai to Baal. "You will not stop me this time! She is mine to murder!" He yelled angrily and all Baal could do was stare as his brother was bringing down a fist towards him that would probably knock him out of action for a minute or two; and he could do nothing.

Instead he turned to Sakai again, staring into her horror stricken eyes as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. She was absolutely beautiful in her confusion and the only thing he could think of is why she would lie to him about something like this? Why she would lie that she could still be a mortal when he had craved to see it for some time now.

He continued to watch her, wondering why he was just standing here and doing nothing to stop his brother from hitting him and killing the woman he was started to think was a Goddess in mortal form; why he was going to let Diablo kill his pet.

He thought it could be the lies and the fact that she didn't give a rat's ass about anything he's done for her or given her.

As he continued to stare into her eyes he saw her start to move; was she going to run? Smart girl; at the moment Diablo was distracted with him and she might have enough time to make it passed the door; perhaps if he evaded this blow from Diablo she would be able to get away to some form of safety.

He watched as she ran and it took him a second to realize she was running directly towards Diablo and when she was about a meter from him she stretched her arms out and Baal watched as she pushed him away from him with all the might her human body had.

At that moment time seemed to speed up again as he watched Diablo's fist miss him by an inch as he got pushed back by about an inch. Diablo snapped around and grabbed Sakai by her neck and lifted her into the air.

On that second Baal realized that Sakai hadn't taken anything he had given her for granted, she was just frightened to reveal this to him and she had just tried to save his life from something that was a hundred times more powerful than her because she thought he, Baal, was weaker than him while she could've run for her life.

She had chosen to stay and protect him from something he didn't need protection, she was the one that needed protection and he was about to grant it.

"Diablo, let her go!" Baal yelled as he took a step towards Diablo and took hold of him by his bulky arm, yanking it down to his level and twisting it into a painful grip that made Diablo roar in pain.

"I will kill you! She is mine to murder!" Diablo yelled angrily as Baal twisted his arm further as Sakai was choking in his grip and with each choke she gave Baal got more infuriated by her sufferings; she had no reason to suffer, she was just frightened of their reaction towards her link to the mortal world still.

Baal growled as he pulled back his fist and conjured up every ounce of power he had in his body as he swung it towards Diablo; getting his brother in the stomach. Diablo gasped as he instinctively dropped Sakai out of the pain and within a second Baal was standing in front of her, having pushed her back against the wall.

Sakai choked in the background as Diablo regained his posture with pain and stared at Baal angrily. "You've become a real human lover you know that!" He spat out as he hit the wall, creating a huge hole in the wall, leading to the outside where people had gathered due to the exploding wall; the second they saw the huge beast within the room they started to run.

"First that disgusting little thing you think is your pet and now you're protecting a mortal that feigned her own death!" He yelled angrily, but made no advance to attack.

"You were about to kill her, you forgot that we require her for information, I will return her to the castle, where I expect to see you." Baal hissed out angrily as he was still standing in front of a coughing and confused Sakai.

"The Hell with you! You better bring her and I will kill her once the interrogation has passed!" He yelled as he jumped through the hole he had created in the wall, roaring angrily at all the humans that he could see but made no aggressive move towards them as he ran towards the portal of Hell.

Baal sighed in relief as he turned towards Sakai; he looked at her neck and noticed the blue ring appearing and blood pouring down the parts where Diablo's nails had penetrated her flesh; she looked up at him in fear.

"I won't hurt you." He said and she saw the surprised look on his face. "Sakai." He finished and he watched as her eyes grew much larger than they were meant to be.


	28. Chapter 28

**(12th July, 19:00, Full Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Eight – Consoled by a Demon**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai continued to stare at her companion as he had somehow successfully managed to identify her; how he did that she didn't know; she didn't look anything like her demonic self. How had he done it? Could she still deny and play dumb? No; she couldn't, she had lied enough to him.

Baal bent down in front of her fallen figure and took hold of her arm; he saw as her entire body stiffened at the contact; did his promise mean nothing to her? He had said he would not harm her. She seemed so frightened of him; something she had never been before. He ignored her fear and pulled her to her feet and held her there.

"Are you okay?" He asked her and she looked at him with more confusion than before and he didn't know she was doing that; why she was being so skeptical about everything he said or did.

"Why do you care? You hate humans." She said in a whisper and he shrugged his shoulders as he moved her towards the armchair and forced her to sit down; which didn't take much. He went to take a seat on the bed, making sure the two of them were out of view of the hole in the wall; he didn't need screaming people interrupting him.

"You aren't exactly mortal and I have my reasons." He said and she growled suddenly, but instead of the feral sound that he was used to hearing from her if she growled a humanlike hiss escaped her mouth; making him want to laugh despite the circumstances. He could only imagine her pulling that aggressive stance with him while she was mortal; that would be adorable.

"Of course you do, but you'll never tell me, you never tell me anything so why should I tell you anything more than what you already know?" She asked angrily as she was about to stand up but Baal gave her a glare that warned her to stay put; so she lowered herself back down and sat.

"You will tell me because I'm giving you the time to speak, I could just as well have helped Diablo instead of fight him." He said and she lowered her head as she sighed, nodding slowly as she raised her head again, looking him directly in his amber eyes.

"How did you do that? Stop Diablo, he is so powerful." She said and Baal wasn't exactly sure how he could answer that question without giving away who he was; something he had wanted to keep from her from the start and he wasn't about to change that now.

"I'll tell you later." He said as he shifted on the bed uncomfortably as he continued to stare at her; despite her anger and obvious aggression in this situation she still looked frightened and hopeless; as if she didn't know the way out of this one; as if every door she tried for an answer was locked and it made her look beautiful. Baal and Diablo could both appreciate the beauty of mortals as they possessed the form themselves and she was beautiful; maybe that was why Diablo was so obsessed with finding her and seeing her before killing her.

"Always later…" She muttered as she put her head in her hands and shook her head a few times while muttering something that Baal couldn't make out.

"Look at me." Baal insisted and she stopped shaking her head and raised it from her hands to stare into his amber eyes again; she seemed to relax once she noticed it wasn't dark amber, instead it was just its usual gold color; which meant he wasn't angry.

"What now?" She asked as she continued to stare at him; her face pulled into a grimace of confusion and despair; it was obvious she was thinking she would lose her life on some occasion within the next few hours.

Baal shifted on the bed again. "I need an explanation of this human form you still possess, I will go from there." He said and then looked at her more sternly. "No lies Sakai, you've done enough for the both of us." He said and she gave a hopeless nod as she took in a deep breath.

"Every full moon from dusk till dawn I am turned into a human again to see what I've lost and to convince myself to continue working towards it." She said and Baal was piqued by her last statement, he sat upright.

"What do you mean 'work towards it'?" He asked and she sighed; what was the point of hiding anything anymore? She was probably going to die anyway and she might as well go out with a bang called the 'truth'. She looked at him for about a minute before deciding to respond to his question.

"It is possible for me to turn human again, permanently." She said and Baal gasped as he looked at her seriously now; as if he hadn't expected that answer and she didn't know it was a good thing that she had, at least his eyes were still normal.

"How?" Was all he asked as he continued to stare into her; her eyes were an emerald green color that seemed to be dimming by the second with her obvious depression. "Tell me how." He repeated and she lowered her gaze from his once more; she couldn't even look him in the eyes the whole time.

"If I learn to care for someone else other than myself I will become human again; as I start to care I start to turn more human, you've probably noticed slight changes." She muttered and Baal recalled what he had thought about her skin color and nails; he had been right, she did seem human.

"But who?" He asked in astonishment and the second he muttered the question he realized who; but he decided to wait for her answer instead.

"You." She said as she looked away again; as if she was ashamed or frightened of the answer she had just given to him; but he was right, it was him. How could it have been another? She had even tried to protect him from Diablo; which had been unnecessary but said a lot.

"Let's return to the castle." Baal said as he got up and she shot her head up in fear and surprise at his request; but refused to move a bit or rise up like he did. She couldn't go close to the castle now, not with Diablo there and not in her human form, she would be murdered! Her companion wasn't enough to protect her! He might've somehow managed it with Diablo, but she doubted he would be lucky twice.

"No, I can't! They'll kill me! I'm still human!" She protested but Baal just shrugged his shoulders as he walked to her and took hold of her arm, pulling her from the chair with more force than it took to put her in it. She didn't want to move but he did manage to get her to her feet.

"You'll be safe." He insisted, but she shook her head.

"No, I won't be safe! It doesn't help if you start lying to me now you know!" She yelled and Baal grunted as he looked her directly in her eyes and spoke slowly, softly and clearly.

"Trust me." He said and she went quiet as she continued to look into his eyes; was he serious? Would she really be okay and alive with everything in Hell wanting to kill her? Baal had probably heard about her coming to Hell as well and what if he was waiting there? Her companion couldn't protect her from the King of Hell if he was forced to obey him.

She took in a deep breath and sighed; she would do what he asked, she would trust him. "Alright." She muttered and Baal gave a nod as he started to lead her out of the building, hoping there wouldn't be too much commotion in the town.

x.X.x

Diablo was back in Hell, he had tried to find Mephisto, the one who had obviously ratted him out to Baal but his brother was obviously hiding like a coward; then again, it was probably the smart thing to do considering how angry he was at the moment.

He was so close to the mortal! He had seen the fear on her face and where she had pushed him and he had grabbed her was still smothered in her human scent like a plague that demanded he kill her. He couldn't believe she even had the nerve to push him, again! If only she had known who she had tried to save from his blow!

He couldn't wait until Baal got back to the castle with the girl, Baal would probably insist on conducting the interrogation but Diablo would get the kill; there was no way around that. He would murder her the second he got the chance.

She could bet her beautiful behind on that.

x.X.x

Baal was at the portal with a very jittery and paranoid Sakai; every demon in the temple had wanted to attack her and she was just glad that her companion had commanded them to stay back.

"Mephisto?" Baal asked, he could sense his brother but it was obvious he was trying to conceal himself, probably from Diablo.

"Why is there a mortal with you?" Mephisto asked and Baal growled.

"It really doesn't concern you, tell me if Diablo came through here." He said and Mephisto was silent for a few moments, it was obvious he was examining the mortal for any significance that would allow her passage into Hell, when he found none he spoke.

"Yes, he came through here, quite angry and still in his demonic form." He said and Baal nodded as he walked to the portal.

"If he decides to leave again you will inform me immediately." Was his last words as he stepped through the portal and into Hell.

x.X.x

Sakai and Baal arrived in Hell and immediately every demon had their eyes trained on her and she was once again a bundle of nerves as she followed her companion silently, doing her best to trust him despite everything in her screaming at her to run.

She looked towards the ground as they continued to walk towards the castle and soon she felt them stop and heard laughter come from none other than Diablo. "So you actually brought her?" Diablo yelled in glee and Sakai was starting to get nervous; had her companion tricked her into coming here only to hand her over to Diablo?

Her heart started to race at the possibility, but why would he ask, why didn't he just drag her away? He was a demon; he had the strength to do so. She built up the courage to look Diablo in the face and the second she did she regretted it; it held nothing but pure hate and glee; it was as if her blood was already on his hands.

"Yes Diablo, I brought her, though you will excuse us for now." He said as he pulled a devastated Sakai into the castle and towards the stairs. "Just follow me." He whispered to her and she had no choice but to do what he wanted.

When they reached his room he led her inside. "Remain here and please don't try to leave, you'll only get yourself killed." He said and she gave a solemn nod as she went towards the bed, sitting down on it; he looked at her and realized she thought he had tricked her. "I didn't." He said angrily and then left the room.

She looked up and smiled. "I guess I'll see." She said as she put her head in her hands and started to cry the tears she was denied while a demon and hadn't thought would be necessary anytime soon; she had been happy in Hell for the first time since she got here and now it was all ruined!

x.X.x

Baal found that Diablo was still outside, gloating and back to his human form; dressed in another cape once more. Baal stopped next to him and looked at him. "You will not harm the girl, so you can drop the happy act." Baal said and watched the reaction he expected to come from Diablo.

Diablo started to get angry and then stopped and stared at Baal with a look of humor. "You're a real good practical joker, did you know that?" Diablo asked with laugh, but when he saw the serious look on Baal's face he scowled. "You're not serious are you? It's just a human!" He yelled towards Baal; his anger rising again.

"Calm down right now!" Baal snapped at Diablo and Diablo growled angrily as he took in a few deep breathes and tried his best to calm himself; when he finally managed he looked at his brother with hate.

"Why, why not?" Diablo hissed out and Baal uncrossed his arms as he looked at Diablo seriously.

"Because I said so, you don't need to have a reason if I command it." Baal said angrily as he went to stand in front of Diablo, glaring at him with as much anger as he could muster. "This is my castle and I am the ruler of Hell; if you wish to retain your place in my Kingdom you will cease this reckless behavior and control and behave yourself!" Baal yelled as his eyes turned a dangerous and dark amber. "You're acting like a child over nothing!" He finished with a hiss and Diablo was trying his best to calm himself.

When Diablo had regulated his breathing again he stared at Baal. "Hell is not a home when it is ruled by an overpowered fluffball with compassion towards humans." Diablo said as calmly as he could while gritting his teeth. "You are not longer a proper ruler of Hell if this is your way of ruling it." Diablo said as he looked at Baal; whose eyes turned even darker than previously.

"My protection of this human or…Sakai does not make me a bad ruler, I have done more for Hell in four weeks than either of you had done in the years I was absent, you are the one trying to destroy the very castle I'm supposed to call home with your rage and I swear I will put you out with the lesser demons and forbid you to enter the castle if this continues!" Baal snapped as he stared at Diablo angrily.

Diablo on the other hand was doing the best he could to keep his temper in check. "What are you going to do to the human?" Diablo asked calmly; screaming the question probably wouldn't bore a response that he liked.

Baal looked at Diablo and then spoke. "I'll ask her the necessary questions then release her back into her world." He lied and waited for the reaction from Diablo and once more he was right; pure anger radiated from his brother.

"You are such a fool, what stops me from going out and finding her again?" Diablo hissed and Baal smirked at his brother as he uncrossed his arms and let it hang loosely at his sides.

"Not much really, though I can guarantee you that you won't find her." Baal said as he started to walk away from Diablo. "I'll be taking my leave now." Baal said as he went back into the castle; heading back up towards Sakai.

x.X.x

Sakai was in the room, still sitting on the bed; what if Baal came in here now to try and kill her with his brother Diablo? Blood was thicker than water and what could her companion possibly do to protect her if he decided he wanted to kill her. As far as she had gathered Baal was a massive human hater and the mere idea of having a mortal in the castle probably revolted him.

"Oh God." She muttered as she heard the door open and watched as her companion came in, his facial features gave nothing away about her future; which she was sure was grim despite his casual demeanor. She watched as he walked to his throne and sat down on it.

"I have informed Diablo that I'll be questioning you and then releasing you back into the world, alive. Though you will obviously not leave as you'll only return to your demonic form." He said and looked at the confused expression on her face. "I did not tell him who you are Sakai; he only thinks it's a mortal he saw." He said and she gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank God; I didn't want him to know." She said and he gave a knowing nod. "Thank you." She said once more as she looked at him. "Why are you allowing me to stay? You're not particularly fond of humans or me." She said and he gave a laugh.

"Didn't you hear Diablo say it?" He asked and she continued to stare on in confusion. "You're my pet." He said with a laugh as he went for the door again. "I'll be back later, don't leave the room." He said and she nodded in agreement; why would she want to leave the room with every demon out there thinking she was a fitting appetizer? She preferred to be a pet than a snack any day.

x.X.x

Diablo was sitting outside and venting; what gave Baal the right to tell him he was not allowed to exact his revenge on that pathetic human? He had the fullest right to have revenge if he wanted to and he would find the girl the moment he released her back into the mortal world; he would track her down and kill her.

No one, not even his brother had the right to make a fool out of him. Even if he was the King of Hell and the most powerful demon to exist in all of the universe; even if he was a thousand times more powerful than anything that existed on this planet he was not allowed to do that; not to his own brother; and for what? Spite perhaps? Baal had no attachment to the stupid woman sitting in his room right now; he could understand Sakai to a limit; but this mortal?

It was only to spite him! Perhaps he would just go in there and kill her right now! He started to walk into the castle and up the stairs; passed Baal's room to firstly see if he was there. He could smell the woman in there strongly and he almost dashed into the room.

Instead he waited by the stairs and sniffed the air and when he heard the door open he quickly went up to his floor and watched from around the corner; watching as Baal left and went down towards the floor, possibly out of the castle and it wouldn't be to speak with him either; they barely spoke about the same thing twice so he wouldn't need to repeat himself.

Diablo waited a few minutes until he was sure Baal was gone and not coming back anytime soon before he slipped down the stairs and opened the door to his brother's room.

x.X.x

Sakai was sitting on the bed; feeling more relaxed than she did last time she was in the castle and a mortal when she heard the door open. Her companion had just left; why would he be back so soon? She sat upright and watched as the door open; perhaps he forgot something? Not that she had ever seen him take anything out of the room to carry with.

She watched as the cloaked figure entered the room but instead of amber eyes she saw blood red ones staring back at her; she wanted to scream for help but she didn't even know the name of her companion; instead she sucked in her breath and watched as he closed the door behind him.

"Yes, not even he is going to be here to save you now; he has left the castle." Diablo sneered as he removed the hood from his head and continued to stare at her slightly confused and completely frightened face; he preferred the fear above confusion and was pleased it was the dominating emotion.

Sakai took in another deep breath and suddenly got angry; she tried to control it as it wouldn't serve her well in this predicament, but being a cowardly little mortal girl would bear the same result; she'd rather go down biting and screaming.

She stood up and put her hands on her hips and she glared at him. "Why the Hell don't you just leave me alone? The only bloody thing I did to you was stuff you into a closet because you bloody hell wanted to kill me you sadistic bastard!" She snapped and she watched as his eyes grew huge with her aggressive stance towards him.

"Excuse me?" He asked in shock as he watched her emerald eyes darken to that of a putrid potion as she glared at him like he was the vilest thing on the planet.

"You follow me around like a creep because you can't handle the fact that I, a bloody mortal, shoved you into a closet; you're obsessed with the fact that you're not allowed to kill me and now you're trying to sneak around and do it like a little kid who can't get to the cookies while mommy is around!" She spat out as she glared at him; a growl escaping her lips.

Diablo stared at her for a few second before growing angry himself, luckily not angry enough to cause a transformation. "What gives you the right to talk like that to me! Diablo, the Lord of Terror!" He yelled as his red eyes darkened and hers followed suit.

"**I **give myself the right you bastard, oh and just by the way, you amount up to nothing in my world but a murderer on a power trip!" She ended with a sneer as she crossed her arms now, glaring at him while he was trying desperately to control his temper.

"You want to test that theory?" He snarled out and she huffed as she uncrossed her arms and crossed it again out of annoyance.

"Oh please, like you would kill me now." She said with a laugh. "This isn't how your fantasy went at all was it? You expected to see me cowering on the ground begging for mercy under your power! Guess again buddy, I'm going down with a fight!" She said mockingly and Diablo growled.

How could she talk to him like this? She was nothing but a mortal! A human girl with the mouth of a bloody harpy. She was insulting him and pressing every aggressive button he had on him for what? Amusement or was it just pure stupidity? The worst part is, she was right; there was no way he would get any satisfaction by killing her if she acted like a bulldog towards him.

"Your mother obviously never taught you to hold your tongue." He said angrily and she huffed again as she let her arms drop to her sides.

"Oh drop the formalities Diablo and kill me if you want; you're right, the other guy isn't here to protect me from you so I can't do anything but spew arguments and insults at you." She said, trying to bribe him into trying something he wouldn't, she knew he didn't want to attack or kill her while she was standing her ground; it was a sort of bluff that was too brave to be honest.

Diablo was silent as he considered her proposal, it would take him less than a second to kill her and he had to admit he didn't have enough time to draw it out to try and get fear from her since Baal could be returning any second now; though he didn't want to just take her life like that; not after the way she just spoke to him. It would have to be painful and snapping her neck or tossing her from the window wouldn't cut it.

Without a word he turned around and left the room; closing the door silently behind him as he walked up to his own room; he would have to get her alone for a long period of time where he wouldn't be interrupted and he would have to do it when she was returned to the mortal world.

He would get her; even if it was a month from now; though he didn't like the fact that she had actually won that argument; perhaps he should've given her a smack for goodwill but that would've only resulted in Baal going insane on him for disobeying and he didn't need that right now.

He would wait it out.

x.X.x

Sakai took in a deep breath and she finally started to shake; what the Hell had she just done and won? She had won an argument against Diablo and in turn it had saved her life. So while she stood her ground he wouldn't touch her; that was perfect. She had her own weapon for the time being, or at least until she transformed.

That was probably the most stupid and bravest thing she had done in her entire life; to stand up to him like that and have him just walk away saying nothing; especially with his temper! It was a bloody miracle to say the least!

Now all she could do was wait to transform and forget about it; it seemed her companion would hide her when she did turn into a human again so she was sorted in a way.

And she didn't even know his name.


	29. Chapter 29

**(13th July, 03:00, Waning Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Twenty Nine – Back to Normal**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

******x.X.x**  


Sakai was asleep when she heard the door open; she opened her eyes slowly and saw as a hooded figure entered the room; though she knew it was her companion by the amber glow she could see from under his hood; he had returned.

He walked towards her and spoke. "Are you awake?" He asked as he put his hood down and stared at her; his eyes glowing a bright and potent gold color in the night; she now understood why they were so feared in the mortal world; if she were to see those eyes staring at her while she waking up she would not be in a very healthy condition mentally for quite some time.

She sat up and stared at him, trying to see passed the demonic eyes that made her skin crawl, regardless of how well she knew him already; she wanted to laugh the second she thought that; she didn't know him at least, she knew nothing about him; not even his name. Yet she did feel like she knew him. "Yes; I'm awake." She said as she rubbed her eyes free from the grains that gather in your slumber.

"Did anyone bother you while I was away?" He asked and she opened her mouth to tell him about Diablo; but then decided against it; there was no reason to cause any trouble between the two of them because Diablo was stronger than her companion and Diablo was the brother of Baal; she didn't want him to go make trouble he couldn't backup via strength.

"No, no one bothered me." She said with a smile, she hated to lie about something as stupid and dangerous as this; but it was for his protection; even if she needed protection more than he did at the moment.

"That's good." Baal said as she went to the bed and sat down on the edge. "I need to take you outside of Hell now; you're due to transform in a few hours, right?" He asked and she gave a nod. "Then I'll take you now, you can wait it out in the forest or go to the town to get something to eat as I doubt they'll remember your face as there was no one outside when we left." He said as he put his hand into his pocket and from it he pulled a bag of gold coins. "Take it to purchase what you need from there." He said and she took the bag and stared at him shocked.

"Thank you." Was all she could say as she put the bag of gold on the table next to the bed. "After I transform back I'll come back as well… Sakai?" She asked and he gave a nod.

"Yes, that's the plan and no one will be the wiser." He said as he stood up and she also got out of the bed; taking the bag of gold from the table again.

" Alright, then I'll go right now.." She said and Baal looked at her, a flash of uncertainty tainting the visage of his eyes. He looked as if he wasn't sure whether the plan would work.

"Yes, let's go now." He said, as if he wasn't sure whether the words would last in his mind, as if he said it now he would regret it later and he just wanted to get it over with or he would regret it at a later time.

Sakai stood up and started to head for the door when he spoke again. "I hope this works." He said as he got up, she looked at him and gave a weak smile.

"Since when did you start to care so much?" She asked as she exited the room, leaving Baal in silence as he considered her sentence. She was right.

Since when **did** he start to care so much? With that thought he went after her to escort her out of Hell.

x.X.x

Diablo was still furious at the way she had spoken to him when he sensed Baal and the girl leaving their room. So he was taking her back to her world now. Hah, what a joke his brother was turning out to be, mortals were soft-soaping him and he was allowing it!

One would've thought the fact that he had a stone embedded in his heart for almost a thousand years would make him hate mortals more and lose his heart, instead he started to like mortals and gained a heart!

Diablo huffed angrily as he stood up, starting to pace the room as he felt an transformation coming and didn't even try to suppress it; he wanted to piss his brother off by causing the ceiling to cave in, either that or a lot of dust again.

x.X.x

Sakai and Baal was outside of Hell and the temple now and a good distance from any demonic activity; Mephisto had been in quite an uproar when he saw Baal was going to release the mortal, only upon explanation on his return would Mephisto let the mortal pass; despite the fact that Baal could've forced passage.

"When you transform you can return, just make sure none of the mortal still lingers on you or they will put two and two together." Baal said and Sakai looked at him in annoyance as she collapsed down on the grass beneath her.

"I'm so sick of this." She muttered as she looked up at him, but his face remained passive. "This hiding and skulking around to survive, perhaps I should do myself a favor and just leave Hell, return to my home and try to live." She said and Baal shifted his weight.

"You can do that, but how will you ever return to being a mortal, I've seen that everything you touch that possesses life dies. Have you considered what will happen if you touch a mortal?" He asked and she was about to argue that she had touched a mortal when she lowered her head, she had not tried to touch one while in her demonic form and the only time when she did touch a mortal was when she took the keys from the innkeeper each time.

"I don't know what will happen." She said hopelessly and Baal said nothing in return, not sure what there was to say in any case. "But wouldn't it be better to live without fear?" She asked and Baal shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but do you truly fear Diablo?" He asked and Sakai looked up at him, her emerald eyes paling at the mention of his name.

"Yes, I fear him because he is dead-set on murdering me, well, this mortal body, and I'm sure he will have no problem murdering my demonic form if given the opportunity." She said and Baal looked at her sternly.

"Then all you can do is believe in the fact that I will prevent him from murdering you." He said and she gave a laugh now, a sort of manically sad laugh. It caused Baal to look at her with concern.

"Protect me from him? What can _you _do, I've never seen you lift a finger against anyone, all I know is that you're stronger than the average demon and perhaps that gives you a political advantage there in Hell but I'm pretty damn sure you can't defeat Diablo or Baal in a fight." She said in one breath as she continued to look at him.

"You don't even know my name so how can you pretend you know my power?" He asked her and she looked at him for about a minute before replying.

"I don't pretend, I just conclude. And if you'd give me your name I might be able to come to an accurate conclusion." She said and Baal huffed as he turned to leave.

"You have no need to know my name." He said as he was about to walk when she spoke, causing him to stop.

"Then you have no right to tell me I am pretending, I am making all my conclusions based on what I see and hear, which is absolutely zero from your side." She spat out as she crossed her arms, still sitting on the ground, Baal turned around and stared into her eyes.

"Some conclusions can be deadly and I'm not saying that from my side, keep your questions to yourself around other demons." He said and the answer seemed to make her angrier.

'Well I'm not getting any from you, so are you saying I should basically just keep my mouth shut?" She asked and he stared at her a few moments.

"Yes." He said as he turned around again. "We'll continue this when you return, I need to leave." He said and she growled.

"If." She corrected and Baal stopped again.

"Excuse me?" He asked, not fully understand her meaning.

"If I return." She elaborated and Baal breathes in deeply.

"The choice remains yours." He said and then walked away from her, in the direction of the temple again, leaving a frustrated Sakai on the grass.

Once he was out of view she got up and walked deeper into the forest, she might as well take a dip in one of the pools while it was still satisfying to bathe.

x.X.x

Baal had returned to the temple and was sensing a growing unease in him; what if Sakai didn't return? Why did that bother him if she decided to go back to her home and live out her days as a demon, alone; he had given her the free choice of staying or leaving so why was it bothering him?

Despite the unease he headed towards Mephisto. "The explanation does not involve you." He said as he stopped in front of his brother, Mephisto came into view properly and glared down at his brother.

"Why would you release a mortal after bringing her into Hell?" He asked in confusion.

"I thought she had information, I was wrong." He said and Mephisto shook his head.

"You kill them, you don't release them! The woman knows the location of this portal now!" He yelled and Baal grunted.

"Yes, and so does everyone else, this portal is barely sacred or hidden, that is why _you're _the only one capable of guarding it, so don't throw that garbage at me. You should know very well my intelligence doesn't lie at the bottom like other demons." He said and Mephisto growled as he retreated into the shadows again.

"I have nothing further to discuss, I am disappointed." He said and Baal gave no reply as he stepped through the portal, back into Hell, he would continue with his duties on the far side of Hell until Sakai was due to return.


	30. Chapter 30

**(13th July, 07:00, Waning Gibbous Moon)**

**Beast and the Beast**

**Chapter Thirty – Discovery of his Identity**

**(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)**

**x.X.x**

Sakai was inside the temple, in the room with the portal while she looked around for Mephisto, he was usually right in her face when she returned but now she didn't see him anywhere. He was probably lurking in the shadows, the only question was why? Another question was why she was returning when she didn't really want to; she didn't like being scared of two higher powers. She didn't like it one bit and here she was walking right back into the possibility of dying.

"You may pass." The voice came from the shadows and Sakai nearly jumped out of her skin.

She muttered a quick thanks and then went through the portal, she didn't like sticking around, Mephisto was a bit too weird for her to want to converse with anymore than 5 seconds at a time, perhaps it would've been easier if he remained in the shadows all the time.

A few seconds later she arrived back in Hell and started to look around, she wondered whether her companion had returned or gone on business, she decided she would ignore his advice and ask. With that thought of defiance in mind she headed straight for the first demon she thought was capable of speech beyond gurgling sounds.

"Excuse me?" She asked the creature that looked a lot like the pit lord from her first day, she had gained more confidence around the demons now and she knew it was because they never touched her or spoke to her aggressively; probably due to the fact that she stayed in the castle and none of them were allowed inside. She was labeled 'important' to them.

The demon looked at her, a look of displeasure on his face. "Yes?" He asked in his unnaturally hoarse voice, it sounded like he swallowed a few reams of sandpaper.

"Have you seen my companion? Has he returned yet?" She asked and realized that must've sounded bizarre because when she 'left' yesterday to go and get food he was still here and she was still a demon. "Mephisto told me he had left as well today, escorting someone." She clarified with a lie and the demon seemed to understand what she was talking about all of the sudden.

"Yes, Baal returned about 4 hours ago." He said and Sakai gave a nod of approval as she turned to leave.

"Thanks, I'll be-" she stopped dead and turned back to the demon, feeling the hair on her body prickle that she no longer had; but the sensation remained. "—what did you call him?" She asked softly and the demon looked at her oddly.

"Baal? The Lord of Destruction? The King of Hell? What do you want me to call him?" He asked in annoyance and Sakai stood rooted to her spot, not moving and for the time not even daring to breathe in fear of falling over.

"The man that you've seen with me a lot, the one that looks like a human and left with a mortal this morning? Are you talking about him?" She asked and the demon rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Baal, like I said. The one who lives on the second floor, just below the room of his brother, the one who brought you here in the first place, _that _one. Are we done?" The demon asked angrily as he didn't wait for a reply, instead just started walking away when she didn't give one immediately.

Even if she wanted to she couldn't, what was the point of speaking when you didn't know what to say? There could be no mistake in identity when the demon explained it so vividly. The demon who she thought was a nobody was everything.

She took a step back and didn't know in which direction to run, out of Hell or into Hell. She didn't know whether she wanted to confront him about his split identity, truth was, she had never known his actual identity so she couldn't call it a split identity.

She took a step towards the portal again and in one vivid explosion off white light her vision went black and she felt herself hit the ground hard.

x.X.x

"Sakai! Wake up!" A voice she had come to know well penetrated her mind and she closely opened her eyes, only to have a stinging headache assault her; she squeezed her eyes shut instantly but the headache wouldn't subside without a fight it seemed.

"Where am I?" She muttered as she still didn't open her eyes or try to figure out anything at the moment, she preferred to have the answers told to her.

"In my room, the demons brought you in and then informed me that you passed out close to the portal." He said and within a second everything came back to her in unreal clarity and she felt her heart drop through her chest; she had never imagined this, she had never considered the possibility that he could be the most powerful demon alive.

Perhaps it had all been a hallucination, perhaps she had passed out when she came out of the portal, and perhaps a demon had hit her over the head. Even if she tried to convince herself of that she knew it wasn't true, the truth was that she had been wrong in everything she thought.

"Baal." She said as she opened her eyes, stars dancing in front of her vision, but she forced them open and kept them that way; looking into the shocked face of the ruler of Hell.

"What?" He asked in almost as much denial as she did, but she knew his was an act.

"I just thought I'd call you by your name, considering I recently discovered it, and not from you." She said and continued to look at him attentively, there was no point in avoiding the subject; she wanted to get it behind her and uncover the truth.

"Is that why you collapsed?" He asked, averting his gaze from hers; looking towards the ground and ceiling, only now noticing a thick layer of dust covering the place once more; but he was too placid at the moment from shock to care what Diablo did to his room.

"Yes." She said truthfully as she looked at his half guilty expression. "When were you planning to tell me this?" She asked and Baal looked up at her, but once he caught the look of deceit in her eyes he looked away again, not sure why he was nervous of making eye contact.

"Never, to be honest." He said.

"Why?" She pushed and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I never wanted you to find out about this, but perhaps it is a good thing, you can at least rest in peace, knowing that my brothers won't harm you while you're under my supervision." He said and once more everything became clear to her.

Why he had been able to stop Diablo the other night and why he was never nearby when Diablo and 'Baal' got in an argument and flung out of the window; why all the demons had stayed away from them when they first arrived and why they still stayed away from her.

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't want to tell me." She pressed and he looked at her and shook his head.

"I don't know why, I just didn't want you to discover my stance in Hell; it's as simple as that." He said and it was the truth; he had never been able to convince himself of a rational reason beyond the fact that he didn't want her to know for a reason he still couldn't place.

"That's not good enough, but I guess I just have to accept your famous 'half-answers'." She muttered as she closed her eyes again, putting her head down on the pillow once more.

"Alright, but..." He stopped in mid sentence, wondering whether he should push the conversation further. "…but what are your feeling on this discovery?" He asked, deciding he might as well do it now instead of later.

She didn't open her eyes as she cracked a smile that he concluded wasn't friendly or positive in any way he could think of. "Feelings? Right, I'm a bit surprised, no, actually, I'm _very _surprised. I've been skulking around corners trying to avoid Diablo and the monster that I thought was Baal, the demon that made other demons turn sheet white and could control that colossal beast Diablo; even toss him from a window, twice." She said as took in a deep breath. "You should've noticed I was afraid of both of them, well, you and your brother; yet you fed that fear by keeping quiet about your identity." She opened her eyes and stared at him angrily now.

"How many times have I mentioned to you that I was afraid without using that exact word? How many times did I tell you that I didn't think you could protect me?" She asked and when he gave no answer she answered for him. "A lot of times; you know, I even kept quiet about Diablo coming into this room trying to kill me because I didn't want you to go and make trouble with the brother of 'Baal' for fear of _your _safety, while I put myself at risk of him coming after me again." She said with a disbelieving laugh.

Baal snapped his head up at her. "What? Diablo came in here? When?" He asked with a tint of anger in his voice that was only so miniscule because he was still in shock and suffering from slight shame at her accusations.

"Yes, when I was human he came in here and tried to kill me, or wanted to at least. I stood my ground and apparently that wouldn't have been a satisfying kill for him, so he left." She said and Baal was growing angrier with each passing second.

"You should've told me!" He snapped at her now and she gave him an icy glare that made him quiet down and look at her with anger that wasn't even directed at her.

"Yes, I wanted to, trust me. You were my only bloody life line down here, you were the only person protecting me while the rest wanted to kill me and I would've told you and I would've felt much safer if you had told me who you _were_. Because you had saved me from Diablo in the village I didn't want you to get yourself in danger again by confronting Diablo, the brother of the KING OF HELL, you!" She yelled at him and his gaze softened.

"You know, despite the fact that I didn't want you to know who I was for unknown reasons the feeling had enhanced once I got to know you better; I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you would resent me for my stance in the mortal world, for my attacks on them and my power over everything you feared in Hell and loved in your world." He said as he looked her in the eyes again, her eyes looked less aggressive towards him.

"The only thing the absence of your name caused to me was fear of dying in this place because the only person willing to protect me was someone I thought was weaker than Diablo!" She yelled again, her anger was growing as well.

"And now with the discovery of who I am?" He asked calmly, trying to keep his own anger at bay, part of it was for her but most of It was for Diablo; he wanted to find him and confront him about the meeting he had with Sakai.

Sakai quieted down as she thought about that. "I don't know, I'm a bit angry and surprised still, just leave me alone for now." She muttered as she closed her eyes again, all the anger vanishing from her features with that action. "Let me rest and sleep on it." She said; when she closed her eyes again she felt the headache approach once more and found the idea of slumber very intriguing at the moment.

Baal stared at her and was a bit confused that the conversation ended so abruptly with his question but he wouldn't press it further, he had business with his brother that wouldn't be pleasing for either of them. "Rest well." He said as he left the room, heading straight up to Diablo's.


End file.
